Just One Night
by MystIc fAte
Summary: Meeting the cute blonde at the club one night everything goes perfect from their conversations to their passionate tryst. So why won't Cloud return Zack's calls? ZackCloud AU. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or any of the FF7 characters.**

* * *

"Hello! Zack!"

"Huh? What?" Zack asked while turning his head slightly but not letting his eyes stray fro their current focus point.

"What the hell, what are you staring at?" His crimson haired friend asked while shifting around in his seat to get a better look.

"Have you seen him here before?" Zack asked in a slightly dazed state. Ever since they had entered the club it seemed that his attention had been affixed to one certain individual. Not even the loud music and the flashing lights in the place could distract him from looking away. Even when a pretty girl would walk by and try to make eyes at him he simply just gave a very non enthusiastic smile and looked back to his interest. And that all in itself was an odd thing for Zack Fair to do.

"Oh the blonde?" Reno asked while turning back to Zack who just gave a quick nod. "Yeah I've seen him here a few times, he's usually with that chick there."

"Oh," Zack replied in a disappointed tone. He had just noticed the small raven haired girl beside the blonde. She was full of smiles and was sitting right beside the other.

"But I don't think that's his girl or anything. I've seen her dancing with other guys in here. If they were dating I don't think he would like that too much."

Zack couldn't help the small smile that crept across his face at that bit of information. "Be right back," he said to his friend with a wink before walking over to the bar counter where the cute blonde was located.

"Oh I love this song!" The girl shouted just as Zack had approached. Hopping out of her seat she patted her friend on the back before dashing off into the dance floor.

'Perfect' Zack thought while taking up the seat beside the blonde that the girl had just vacated. He kept his gaze on the spiky blonde spikes in front of him before turning to the bartender and ordering a beer. If he was going to sit at the bar he figured he had better order something so that way he wasn't too suspicious.

The blonde looked off into the dance floor where he spotted the girl dancing away to her hearts content. He gave a brief smile before shaking his head a bit and turning back around towards the counter. Resting his elbows on the counter he picked up the glass in front of him and took a sip.

Zack seemed to be way too interested in the glass and the way it touched the boys lips that he only realized that his beer was now in front of him when he heard the loud clunk when the bartender placed it down in front of him. Snapping out of his small trance he took a sip of his beer before glancing sideways at the blonde who was tracing the top of his glass with his finger idly.

"Looks like she's having fun," Zack spoke up over the music while turning his focus back to the dark haired girl who was still dancing amidst the crowd of people.

The blonde turned his head in the other's direction before following his gaze to the dance floor. "Yeah," he replied with a short nod, "she usually does."

"You shouldn't let your girlfriend dance by herself," Zack continued, inwardly holding his breath for the response.

"She's not my girlfriend," the blonde replied while letting blue eyes pierce into Zack's.

Now that it was for sure confirmed that he and the girl weren't together Zack felt himself become less tense.

"Oh," he replied with a nod, trying to appear casual even though he was practically giddy inside about it. "Well you could still go out on the dance floor."

The blonde smiled before picking up his drink again and taking another sip, "I don't dance," he answered before setting down the drink, "I just come because she drags me. And also to look out for her."

Zack nodded before a smirk appeared on his face. So more than likely this girl was his sister? Or perhaps a friend? Either way it was a good thing for him.

"Yeah," Zack began while taking a drink, "my friend usually drags me here too," he explained while turning in his seat and giving Reno a small wave from across the room. It seems like his friend had already begun to chat it up with some random girls and gave Zack a mischievous grin in return.

"I've seen him here before," the blonde replied while looking at the redhead before turning back towards the counter. "So that's your friend huh?"

"Um," Zack began a bit nervously. Did he know something bad about Reno? He was very aware that his friend had a bad reputation and he didn't want this boy to get the wrong idea about him just because he was friends with the loud and sometimes obnoxious Reno.

"Hey," the blonde started before Zack had time to finish his response, "can you do me a favor?" He asked while leaning over closer to Zack. His blue eyes seeming to shine in the colorful lights of the club.

"Uh, yeah sure," Zack replied, his eyes unblinking as he stared back into the deep blue.

"Would you buy me a drink?" The blonde asked with a smile while holding up his stamped hand that glowed in the dark lighting of the club that showed he was a minor.

"Ah," Zack began in understanding as a grin appeared on his face, "sure what do you want?"

"An apple sour," the blonde replied before smirking a bit, "I don't like hard alcohol."

Zack gave a brief laugh before continuing. "No worries. Want to meet me at that table there? I can't hand you the drink right in front of the bartender."

"Sure," the blonde answered while sliding off of the chair and making his way through the crowd of people before sitting down at the small table that Zack had pointed to.

Zack waited until he saw the blonde sitting at the table before he ordered the drink. Then when it was set in front of him he left some money on the counter before making his way towards the other table. The bartender was busy with other orders so he didn't really pay any attention to Zack, but he wanted to be safe than sorry. Some times the club staff was really strict about these things.

Reaching the table he pulled up a chair while holding out the drink. "Here you go…" he started while raising an eyebrow and pulling back the drink briefly.

"Cloud," the blonde replied while Zack handed him the drink.

"Cloud?" Zack repeated while shifting a bit in his seat.

"Yes, it's weird I know," the blonde began with a roll of his eyes and taking a sip of his apple sour.

"No, it's unique actually. I like it," Zack spoke honestly as a small smile graced his face.

The blonde was silent for a moment before giving a quick nod, "well thank you…"

"Zack," the raven haired man replied while resting his elbows on the table.

"Zack," Cloud repeated, "and thanks for the drink too."

"No problem. But should I feel guilty for buying a drink for a minor?" Zack asked as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Not really, I didn't drive and I doubt I could get drunk off of one drink that's not even that strong to begin with," Cloud answered while setting down his drink. "How old do you think I am anyways?"

"Well," Zack began while narrowing his eyes and focusing on the boy across from him. "You have to be at least eighteen to get in the club. You are younger than twenty-one…I think I'm going to say nineteen?"

"It's not like you had very many options," Cloud laughed while placing his chin in the palm of his hand, "but that's correct."

Zack grinned triumphantly, "I knew it! Now how old do you think I am?"

Keeping his eyes on the other Cloud was silent for a moment as he studied the man in front of him. "Twenty one dead on."

"You sticking with that?" Zack questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"That's my gut instinct," Cloud answered.

"Positive?" Zack continued with a smile.

"Now you're just trying to throw me," the blonde replied with a smirk, "but I'm sticking to that."

"Then you would be right," Zack spoke while Cloud's smile widened, "but!" Zack continued, "I'll be twenty two in a few months."

"Mm," Cloud replied with a nod as he took another gulp of his drink.

"Easy," Zack said as he watched the boy down his drink.

"I'm fine," the blonde answered while setting down his now empty glass.

Grinning Zack looked back into the boys eyes. He didn't know what it was about them that kept him so captivated, but he didn't want to look away. He watched as Cloud lazily ran a hand through his unruly hair before giving Zack a confused look. "What?"

Blinking Zack quickly shook his head before glancing back towards the dance floor. He heard Cloud give a small laugh before he was turning his focus back towards the blonde.

"Spacing out? Must've had a long day," Cloud began while leaning on the table a bit more.

"A little…I guess," Zack admitted. Though that wasn't really the reason for his 'spacing out' so much as it was that the blonde was distracting him.

"What do you do?" Cloud asked curiously.

"Uh…I'm in SOLDIER actually," Zack replied while clearing his throat. It was something that he didn't like to tell people right away because it seemed like they somehow got intimidated by him for some reason. He didn't like to be treated differently because of it.

"Honestly?" Cloud continued as a smile spread across his face. "What rank?"

"Second," Zack began, "but I hope to be in first class by next year."

"I'm sure you will be," the blonde replied with a nod and a reassuring smile.

That smile was beginning to get to Zack. That paired up with those captivating blue eyes was a killer. His heart was already beating so fast just from sitting here talking to the cute blonde he had been eyeing all night.

"What about you?" Zack asked, trying to keep his thoughts contained.

"I go to Midgar U. Nothing grand really," Cloud answered with a shrug.

"Nothing grand? Don't be modest!" Zack laughed, "Midgar U is like the toughest college to get into."

Cloud just shrugged again and Zack laughed some more. In some way it seemed like Cloud's view was probably the same as his. Just how he didn't want people to view him differently because he was in SOLDIER, Cloud probably didn't want people to view him differently just because he got into a top college.

"Cloud! I've been looking for you!" A girl's high pitched voice came as the dark haired girl came into view, smacking Cloud on the arm.

"Oh sorry," Cloud replied while glancing beside him to the girl who now had her hands on her hips.

"It's getting dead in here we should probably go," the girl continued on.

Glancing around the club the blonde nodded. The crowd had indeed started to thin out and they were beginning to replay a lot of the songs from earlier.

"Yeah alright," he began while turning back to Zack, "um?"

"You know, I should probably find my friend too. It's getting late," Zack started while looking around the club.

"Oh, whose this?" The girl asked while blinking a few times once her gaze fell onto the raven haired man.

"Oh uh this is Zack," Cloud began while pointing across the table, "and Zack this is my friend Yuffie."

The two said hello to each other although Yuffie seemed to be giving Zack a look that he couldn't quite decipher yet.

The three exited out of the club while Zack called Reno on his cell phone only to learn that his friend had left without him.

"Well that's nice," Zack mumbled to himself while flipping his cell closed.

"Got ditched?" Cloud asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"So it seems," Zack replied with a shrug and a smile, "not that I'm surprised with him though."

"Well!" Yuffie piped up, "It was nice to meet you! But we better go, it's late."

"Yeah," Cloud confirmed while glancing at his watch.

Zack didn't want this to be over so quickly. He had never seen Cloud before at this club besides tonight, so who was to say that he would see him again? He didn't want to just end it the way it was. But, with Yuffie around now it seemed a bit awkward to try to even attempt something, even if he wanted to.

"How are you getting back home?" Cloud asked, breaking into Zack's thoughts as he looked towards him with curious eyes.

"Uh, walking actually. It's just a few blocks up this way," Zack explained while pointing up the street.

"Oh, me too actually," Cloud replied while glancing towards Yuffie, "and she stays just a block away so we can all just walk together."

"Great!" Zack beamed, catching a glare from Yuffie. The three of them walked towards their destinations while caught up in small talk. They reached Yuffie's apartment complex first seeing as how it was the closest.

"Goodnight Yuffie, I'll call you tomorrow," Cloud spoke up once they walked the girl up to the entrance gate.

"Alright," Yuffie began while opening the gate a bit. Her eyes moved between Cloud and Zack and she gave the blonde an odd look. "Cloud you-"

"Yuffie," Cloud began while shooting a look her way, "goodnight. I'll talk to you later."

"Ok fine," the girl began with a sigh while turning her gaze towards Zack, "nice meeting you Zack."

"Same here, goodnight," the man replied just as she stepped inside the gate and began to walk towards her apartment door. They watched until she got inside before continuing on.

"I think I made her a bit uncomfortable," Zack began breaking the silence between he and Cloud.

The blonde was silent for a moment before shaking his head, "she's just paranoid."

"Paranoid?" _About what? _

"I don't know, who understands girls," he explained before giving a small chuckle.

Zack gave a smile in return at that before shrugging off the matter. The two continued to converse casually just like they had in the club and before he knew it the blonde was coming to a stop.

"Well," Cloud began while looking towards his left at the apartments. "This is me."

"Oh," Zack began with a raised eyebrow, "you don't stay in the dorms?"

"Way too expensive," Cloud replied with a shake of his head.

Zack nodded in understanding, a college like Midgar U would've broke the bank account for housing expenses.

"So…I guess I'll see you around?" Cloud asked while shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Was this how it was going to be? Leave it up to fate to see if they ran into each other again? Or should he take the initiative and ask the blonde for at least his phone number? Or should he be daring and kiss him like he had been wanting to do all night? Or should he just cherish the night for what it was and not push it?

"Yeah…alright."

He could've smacked himself for that. He never had a problem with asking someone that he was attracted to for at least their phone number. So why the hell couldn't he do it now?

"Okay," Cloud replied quietly while dropping his eyes down to the sidewalk, "then…goodnight."

Zack watched as Cloud retreated towards his apartment door. He got further and further away and now he was standing in front of the door fishing the key out of his pocket. He had just pulled it out and was placing it in the doorknob when Zack finally found his voice again.

"Cloud!" Zack shouted. The boy turned around, simply just staring in Zack's direction. Not making any movements to approach him or to turn and go inside his apartment. So taking a breath Zack walked over towards him. When he was close enough he saw that the other's eyes were wide and seemed to be filled with something that he couldn't quite place for sure but seemed to be bordering on hopefulness.

"Yeah?" Cloud asked softly now that Zack was standing in front of him.

"I uh…I just. Before I left I wanted to…um." Pausing briefly Zack glanced at the ground trying to figure out just how to phrase the words he wanted to speak.

"You wanted to," Cloud began quietly while taking a step forward, "kiss me?"

"What?" Zack asked quickly while snapping his head up. Did he hear right? Or was he so delusional that he only thought he heard that?

A blush had graced the blonde's cheeks now but it didn't stop him from backing down. "I said," he continued in the same quiet voice, "did you want to kiss me?"

Looking into those blue eyes again Zack saw only sincerity and a certain longing. So he wasn't delusional after all. He didn't reply to Cloud's question, but instead leaned forward and pressed his lips against the others. It seemed to take Cloud by surprise for a moment as he let out a small gasp, but within a second he was returning it. Pressing his lips harder against Zack's and massaging them with his own.

Zack wasn't sure how far Cloud would let him go with this kiss but he decided to try to deepen it, gently letting his tongue glide against the blonde's soft lips. He was surprised when he felt the other's lips part ever so slightly letting his tongue enter into his mouth.

Cloud let out a soft moan as he gently wrapped his arms around Zack's neck, pulling him closer as he felt Zack's arms slide around his waist. They continued with their sensual kiss for what seemed like forever and now Cloud's back was against the door to his apartment. They finally broke for air, though they still remained very close as only the sound of their heavy breathing lingered in the air.

"Did," Cloud began a bit breathlessly while letting his eyes fall close briefly as he tightened his arms around Zack's neck, "did you want to come in?"

Zack's heart thudded against his chest at that question and he felt a shiver run down his spine at the feel of Cloud's warm breath against his lips when he spoke.

"I'd like that," Zack replied, his voice just as soft if not just a little bit tinged with desire.

"Okay," Cloud spoke while unwrapping his arms from around the others neck. He turned the key in the doorknob and unlocked the door while pushing it open and hitting the light switch on the wall that illuminated the once dark place. It was a clean and tidy apartment, not very big and simple in color. White carpet and walls were present along with a dark blue sofa and loveseat. There was a few paintings that hung on the wall, they were pretty interesting and might've held Zack's attention more had he not been so focused on the cute blonde in front of him.

"You have a nice place," Zack spoke while glancing around the apartment a bit more while Cloud shut the door behind him.

"Thanks," Cloud replied while stepping back in front of Zack and pulling him down to seal their lips in another kiss. It didn't take long for Zack's hands to roam over the other's body and he found himself helping the student remove his jacket which fell to the floor without a second thought. They stumbled back a bit as Cloud sort of lost his footing, but Zack was quick to stabilize them.

"Want to see my room?" Cloud breathed into Zack's ear while twining his fingers within his.

This kid seriously didn't know just how bad he was affecting the SOLDIER. Every little touch, and every word that he purred into his ear was driving him insane. And honestly, Zack would've thought him to be a little more shy in this type of situation, but it seemed like he was wrong. And in all honesty he had thought that maybe if he was lucky that he would've gotten the boys phone number and maybe a kiss, but he had _no_ idea that it would lead to this. Not that he was in any way complaining.

"Uh huh," was all he could say as he allowed a grin to spread across his face.

"This way," Cloud continued with a small smile as he dragged Zack down the hall towards his room. He kicked open the door to the left with his foot and led them into the somewhat dark room. The only light was from the moon that was spilling in through the curtains. Cloud pulled away from Zack briefly just to move some textbooks that were lying across his bed to a small desk in the corner. Turning back around he gave Zack another smile, though the blush on his cheeks was still evident even in the darkened room. He made his way towards the bed and climbed atop it before looking back to Zack and giving him a look that told him to follow suit. The other was on the bed with him within an instant and had begun to press kisses from his cheek, to his jawbone, to his lips and then his neck. He was loving the sounds that Cloud was making from just such small kisses. But despite that, even though he wanted to do this more than anything, he just had to know…

"Cloud," he began while pressing another kiss to his neck before moving to his ear, "you didn't have any other drinks before I bought you one did you?"

The blonde froze completely before pulling back. "You think I'm drunk?" He asked, his blue eyes almost sparkling in the pale moonlight.

"No," Zack began with a shake of his head, "I mean you don't seem like it, but I just wanted to make sure. I didn't want to…do something you might regret later, ya know?"

Looking into Zack's eyes a small smile spread across Cloud's face. "Yeah," he whispered before leaning forward and kissing the SOLDIER. But within a minute Zack was pushing him back onto the bed while climbing on top of him. They continued to kiss while Zack ran his hand along the blonde's torso, slipping his hand under his shirt and caressing the warm, soft skin. The shirt was discarded a few minutes later as Zack began to trail kisses down the other's chest and abdomen causing Cloud to shift and squirm beneath him.

"You know," Cloud began to speak, his voice already full of lust and breathy. "I just want you to know that I haven't done this before."

Stopping his ministrations Zack looked back up into the blonde's flushed face.

"I mean," Cloud began, "I'm not a virgin. I just meant this…meeting someone and hooking up the same night. It's not really me."

"I sort of figured that somehow," Zack explained while leaning down closer to the others face, "it's not really me either. But…I can't explain it about you."

Wrapping his arms around Zack's neck Cloud pressed a kiss to his lips before Zack began to continue his assault. He was nipping and biting at the other's neck with the occasional bite to his collar bone which caused the blonde to yelp a little before Zack pressed kisses there to soothe the dull pain.

Their talking had ceased altogether by now and the only sound was their breathing and their kisses and the occasional shift of the bed. It hadn't taken long for them to rid each other of their clothing as their hands continually roamed over each others bodies, touching and caressing each inch of skin, making sure that nothing was neglected.

Cloud had wound himself around Zack pretty tight and was now rocking up against him, letting out pleasurable moans at each move.

"Cloud," Zack gasped while placing a hand on the side of the blonde's hip to try to keep him still.

"Mm," Cloud began while his eyes opened to narrowed slits, "it feels good doesn't it?" Rocking up a bit again the blonde let out another moan as Zack gave a low growl while tightening his grip on the boys side.

"Yes," Zack all but hissed out. Of course it felt good, but if Cloud kept doing that this would be over all too soon, and he didn't want that. Glancing around the room Zack tried to find something he could use to prepare his small lover. Cloud was obviously more than ready and he was to so there was no use in prolonging things.

"Oh," Cloud began while sitting up slightly when he realized Zack's eyes scanning the room. Reaching over to the small dresser beside the bed he opened the top drawer before pulling out a small tube of sorts. He pushed it into Zack's hands before lying back against the bed eagerly waiting for him to begin.

Zack didn't waste any time before he had squeezed the clear gel out of the tube and spread it over his fingers. It didn't take him long before he was inserting one, two and finally three fingers into the small blonde. Stretching him and hitting that spot that made him go insane with pleasure. Every time Zack hit that spot inside of him Cloud moaned in delight while digging his fingernails into Zack's shoulder, but not to the point where it really hurt at all.

When Cloud began to arch his back and his breathing increased Zack withdrew from him. The blonde let out a sound of protest but Zack didn't want him to climax so soon, not yet. Pulling him closer towards him Zack placed his hands on the boys hips before entering him slowly drawing out a soft moan from the other. He paused briefly once he was all the way in, letting Cloud adjust and partly to regain his control.

"Zack," Cloud moaned while rocking his hips against Zack's urging him to move.

Not hesitating any longer Zack pulled out gently before pushing back in, keeping his rhythm steady and almost torturously slow. Cloud met every movement in time with his, his hand clenching the sheets as sweat began to accumulate on his body. They kept up the pace for a while before they both began to speed up of their own free will. The gentle thrusts began to become harder and deeper, hitting the blonde's prostate dead on each time.

"Zack!" He moaned while fisting his hand in the bed sheets some more, needing something to hold onto, something to grab. However that wasn't satisfying him and he reached his arms up to wrap around the SOLDIER again. His breathing quickening and becoming more ragged with each movement that was made. He wasn't going to last much longer and Zack could tell from the way he was squirming beneath him. With a few more hard thrusts the blonde was arching his back as his eyes squeezed shut. He opened his mouth in a silent scream before letting the other's name fall from his lips.

It was in that blissful moment that Zack reached his own release, pushing harder into his lover with erratic movements before stilling completely.

Cloud had now rested back fully against the bed, his eyes still closed as he tried to regain control of his breathing. Strands of his hair were sticking to his face and his body seemed to be completely flushed, and Zack thought he was most beautiful in this moment.

Moving to the side of the blonde Zack rested beside him, his eyes didn't stray from the other and he wanted nothing more than to reach out and hold him but he didn't know if Cloud would like that. Would it be weird? Did the student only intend for this to be a one night stand? Zack hoped that he didn't. He couldn't explain the connection he felt between himself and the blonde but he felt something. Something deeper than an attraction, than just a lustful desire. And he hoped more than anything that he could explore that further, but…

With a sigh Cloud rolled onto his side before scooting closer towards Zack and leaning against his chest, his breaths still coming out in somewhat shallow pants. The SOLDIER was a bit surprised at first before a smile spread across his face and he wrapped his arms around the younger one.

"Are you tired?" Cloud mumbled while shifting just a little.

"A bit," Zack replied while letting his fingers caress the other's soft skin, "are you?"

"Yeah," Cloud replied before blinking his eyes open slowly and looking up at Zack.

Raising a brow in curiosity Zack gave the blonde a small smile, "what's that look for?"

"Just wondering," Cloud began softly while letting his gaze drop.

"Wondering about?"

"What's so different about you," he continued with a small sigh, his warm breath tickling the SOLDIERS chest.

"Hmm?" Zack asked slightly confused as to what the small blonde was talking about.

"Usually," Cloud started, his voice a bit quieter than before, "when people at the club try to talk to me, I usually avoid them. But with you…I didn't. Maybe it was because I was waiting for you to come over and hopefully talk to me."

"What?" Zack asked a bit in shock, "you saw me there before?" When he didn't get an answer he glanced down to the boy in his arms and noticed his steady breathing and that those brilliant blue eyes were now closed. Seems he really was tired.

But that confession was enough to make Zack believe that he had a chance with Cloud. He would just have to wait and see he supposed, but that was something they could talk about in the morning he guessed.

* * *

"But you're always hungry," Reno spoke while eyeing his friend strangely from across the table once he told the waitress that he just wanted a soda.

"Yeah, maybe I'm getting sick or something," Zack replied while glancing out of the restaurant window.

"Maybe cause you've been acting strange all week yo," Reno added while pulling a cigarette from out of his coat pocket.

Zack couldn't deny that. Reno was right, he hadn't been himself for the past week. But it wasn't because he was "sick" but it was because he hadn't talked or seen Cloud at all since then. He blamed himself really, he was the one who had to leave early the next morning because of some stupid training that he had to go to. But he had told Cloud that he wanted to talk to him and had gotten his number before he left. But every call that he made to the student remained unanswered and went straight to his voicemail. He had left about two messages but when Cloud didn't return them he decided not to anymore. He didn't want to be bothersome, or a nuisance. Maybe the feelings he had for the other turned out to be one sided after all. But…no. No, he was sure Cloud felt something for him. When Zack asked for his phone number he had been all smiles and quickly gave it to him along with a long kiss before the SOLDIER left his apartment. If he wasn't interested then why would he do that? Why act that way? Zack was beyond confused and couldn't seem to fall back into the swing of things. Part of him felt stupid about it really, it was just one night. He was expecting something more when maybe he really shouldn't have. Should he be harboring over it and letting it affect him so hard? After all, Cloud probably wasn't thinking about it at all.

"Or you could just be tired, being in SOLDIER can take a lot of you I can imagine," the brunette male that was sitting beside Reno spoke up.

"Yeah," Zack replied while letting his gaze fall onto Squall. He didn't hang out with him a lot, and only really knew him through Reno. Though he often wondered how the two of them could be friends. From what Zack had seen Squall appeared to be more the serious and quiet type, totally the opposite from the redhead.

Squall's cell began to ring and he quickly answered it while Reno continued on.

"Anyways, if you feel better we should go party tonight," Reno began while taking a drag from his cigarette and smiling from ear to ear.

"Sure," Zack said with a sigh. He didn't really feel up to it but he figured he should try to do something to lift his spirits.

"My boyfriend is going to be joining us for lunch," Squall said after he was off the phone.

"Ah right, the boyfriend," Reno began while exhaling some smoke, "I haven't met him yet."

"Yeah well he lives in a different part of the city now because it's closer to his school," Squall explained.

"Where does he go?" Zack asked, trying to be a bit more involved in the conversation than he had been previously.

"Midgar U," Squall replied.

"That uppity school?" Reno asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You mean prestigious," Squall corrected while looking towards the entrance of the restaurant.

Reno simply shrugged as Zack smiled a bit.

"I think that's him," Squall began while keeping his focus on the entrance before raising his hand to try to catch his boyfriend's attention. "Cloud over here!"

The SOLDIER'S smile quickly fell when he heard that name uttered. He snapped his eyes towards the entrance quickly and his gaze instantly locked with those same brilliant blue eyes that he hadn't seen in a week. "Cloud?"

* * *

**Authors Note: And yet here again I am writing something else that totally just came to me. It's weird how thoughts just pop into my head, while writing chap 27 of Crystal Clear I just couldn't get this out of my head so I figured I had to write it or else I wouldn't be able to progress with Crystal Clear, hehe. So now that it's out of the way. I guess this could easily be turned into a multi chap story, but I don't know I sort of just like it this way. Cause it allows you to put your own spin on it. Is Cloud a jerk for cheating on his boyfriend and giving Zack false hope? Or did he and Squall get in a fight or something and he was looking for comfort? Or, was he just in fact really drawn to Zack? **

**Since I think I may really leave this just as a one shot type thing I wanted to clarify these points. The whole deal with Yuffie looking at Zack weird and stuff, well it's because she can tell that Cloud sort of likes him and her being Cloud's best friend knows that he is with Squall so she is sort of defensive and doesn't want him to do anything stupid. Uh…maybe that's about it, everything else should be straight forward. Who knows maybe when I'm done with Crystal Clear I "may" continue, who knows. But if not, hope you enjoyed! Please review, thanks!**


	2. Torn

**Disclaimer: I do not own the lovely characters of FF7 or FF8. So do not try to sue me, thanks.**

"Cloud?"

No…no way. The blonde that he had been obsessing over for the past week, wondering why he hadn't called him after what he _thought_ was such an amazing night that they shared together. Here he was now, just feet away from him. But this was far from a wonderful reunion, Cloud was here to meet Squall, his…boyfriend.

The blonde was frozen at the entrance, his eyes seeming to grow just as wide as Zack's as he looked over to the table where the three men were seated. He looked just as surprised if not down right terrified. This had to be some sort of a joke right? Or maybe some odd illusion? Zack wasn't really there, he couldn't be there.

"Oh my god," Cloud mumbled under his breath once he realized that this was no illusion. He felt his heart beat speed up and his stomach drop all at once. His first thought was to turn around and bolt right out of the restaurant and not look back. There was no way he could walk over to that table now…but Squall had already seen him. Damn! There had to be a way to get out of this somehow. Right? After all, how could he face Zack!? He hadn't seen him since last week…

* * *

_Finishing pulling on his clothes Zack carefully moved across the room, careful not to hit the bed and wake the still sleeping blonde who was currently tangled in the covers. Zack couldn't help but to smile at him, he looked so peaceful when he was asleep, even if his position wasn't very graceful. From the way his golden hair shrouded his face, to the soft, delicate like look of his fair skin. He was just…beautiful._

_Making his way over to the boys desk he was hoping that he could find some paper and a pen to write Cloud a note. It was still really early but he had to get home to get ready before heading out to his training session. _

_Locating a pen on top of the desk he stooped down to open the small drawer beneath it to see if there was any paper there. However when he went to pull the drawer open it stuck and caused the books on top of it to fall to the ground with a loud thud. And the small cup of pens spilled across the desk with a loud clatter._

_"Shit," Zack cursed quietly while moving to clean up the items, not hearing the stirring in the bed behind him._

_"Zack?" Cloud asked sleepily while shifting in the bed to look over towards his desk where Zack was picking up books from off the ground._

_"Yeah," Zack replied while looking over to the blonde with a nervous grin on his face, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you."_

_Sitting up in the bed fully Cloud gave Zack a once over noticing that he was already back in his clothes. He rubbed at his arm briefly before letting his eyes fall back down to the covers. "Are you leaving?" _

_Pausing briefly Zack noticed the look on the others face. He seemed a bit…disappointed? No! Maybe he was getting the wrong idea, as in Zack was trying to bail out before he woke up! And hell no that wasn't the case. Crossing over to the bed quickly Zack took a seat beside the blonde._

_"I wasn't trying to like run out!" He blurted, causing Cloud to look up at him questioningly. "I mean I have a training class I have to go to. And I know it's early and I didn't want to wake you up so I was going to write you a note…and then I knocked over all this stuff on your desk," he explained while scratching the back of his head and offering a sheepish smile._

_"Oh," Cloud replied as his face expression changed to understanding and what looked like amusement before he let out a small laugh, "it's alright you could've woke me up. I don't have class today so it's okay."_

_"Oh well then since you're up now," Zack began, "I was hoping that we could…talk more. Because I was hoping that...um, I don't know. Maybe we could…"_

_Letting out a small chuckle Cloud decided to help the somewhat flustered SOLDIER. "Maybe we could hang out again? As in like…a date you mean?"_

_"Yeah!" Zack exclaimed, "Yes, exactly."_

_"So then, you would probably need my number right?" Cloud asked with a raised eyebrow, all the while that same amused smile on his face._

_Zack nodded, "if that's alright?"_

_"Yeah," Cloud started as his smile widened, "of course it is."_

_"Really? Great!" Zack practically exclaimed, pen already in hand and ready to be used._

_Cloud laughed while taking the pen from Zack's grasp and glancing around the room. There didn't seem to be anything nearby that he could write on. "Um," he began before taking hold of Zack's hand and scribbling his number down in his palm. "This is classy right?" He joked while letting out a small laugh._

_"Hey, at least this way I'll be sure to see it," Zack replied with a wink._

_"Yeah," Cloud spoke softly while looking back up into blue eyes. "I hope you remember."_

_Zack felt his heart thud against his chest when Cloud locked their gazes. Even though he had looked into those eyes the night before, it still seemed to have a strong, almost hypnotizing effect on him._

_"How could I forget?" He asked genuinely, his voice coming out quieter than intended as he kept his eyes looking into those deep blue orbs._

_Within a moment he found himself leaning into the student, pressing his lips against his. And just like the night before he felt that spark of electricity surge between them and he couldn't help but to wrap his arms around the boys bare waist and pull him closer._

_Cloud instantly wrapped his arms around Zack's neck as he deepened the kiss, exploring the caverns of his mouth and simply indulging in the taste that was him. _

_A couple minutes rolled by before Cloud pulled away with a soft blush on his cheeks and a smile that he couldn't suppress even if he wanted. _

_"I don't want to make you late," he began while pulling one of the sheets around him. "I'll walk you to the door."_

_Zack was leaning in again and pressing a few soft kisses against the blondes lips. "It's alright, you stay in bed."_

_"No it's fine," Cloud insisted while getting up and walking towards the bedroom door with the white sheet pulled tightly around him._

_Zack smiled before following after him and affectionately running his hand through the disheveled golden spikes. Once they made it to the door he leaned in and placed one last kiss on the boys lips._

_"I'll call you later today if that's alright," Zack spoke while gently caressing the side of the boys face._

_"Of course it's alright," Cloud replied while absentmindedly leaning into Zack's touch._

_Zack gave another smile as he looked into Cloud's eyes and nearly melted when the blonde returned the smile._

_"You're going to be late," Cloud started with a laugh, though he didn't look away from Zack even for a moment._

_"Yeah…yeah sorry," Zack laughed with a shake of his head. He was so captivated with Cloud that he couldn't even begin to explain it. "I'll call you later then."_

_"Ok, sounds good," the blonde replied just as Zack turned the knob to open the door. Just as he stepped out Cloud moved closer to behind the door as he held the sheet tightly against him trying to shield himself from the cool morning air._

_Zack shot one last look behind him and gave a wave before saying a final goodbye which Cloud returned enthusiastically. _

_Glancing down at the phone number written down in his hand he let out a sigh. Training just wasn't going to go by fast enough for him._

* * *

Squall waved his hand again and Cloud snapped out of his small trance. Tearing his gaze away from Zack's he took slow steps toward the table. He had to will himself to act normal, otherwise Squall would know something was up. He was almost to the table when Squall stood up and met him the rest of the way, giving him a smile and a hug before pecking him a quick kiss hello.

"That was fast," his boyfriend stated while taking him by the hand.

"Yeah, I was in the area already," Cloud replied with a forced smile as he let Squall lead him back towards the table.

From the moment that Cloud had walked in Zack had only been able to look at him and nothing else. Perhaps just from being in shock and…well a whole mess of other things. But when he saw Squall hug and kiss the blonde he quickly looked away, swallowing harshly because of his suddenly very dry throat.

"Zack, Reno, this is Cloud," he introduced before turning back to Cloud, "and these are my friends. I work with Reno actually."

"Hi," Cloud spoke awkwardly while letting his gaze wander over the table.

"Oh hey I thought you looked familiar yo!" Reno exclaimed while leaning on the table, "I've seen you at the club before. Just last week actually!"

"Yeah, maybe," Cloud replied just as he took a seat beside Squall.

"No no it was for sure you," Reno continued while exhaling a cloud of smoke, "in fact you talked to Zack right?"

Damn Reno and his sharp memory! Cloud had just sat down, he wasn't prepared for this! Hell, when he came to the restaurant he hadn't planned on seeing Zack at all! Let alone to be sitting at the same table as him! And now the awkward questions had begun. What was he supposed to do?

"Um," Cloud began while stealing a quick glance at Zack who now had his eyes fixed on him. He didn't let his gaze linger for long though, he couldn't, it was way to difficult. "Maybe," he finally spit out. Of all the responses, he just had to go with that one. Smart.

"Maybe?" Reno asked with a raised eyebrow.

Squall gave a small laugh before speaking up, "well does he look familiar to you?"

"I uh…I just don't remember. I kind of had a lot to drink so…I'm not sure," Cloud continued while looking down at the table guiltily.

"Ah," Reno began with a grin as Squall shook his head.

"I wish you wouldn't get drunk when you go out to places like that," Squall started with a sigh before running his hand through golden spikes and then turning his focus to Zack. "Did you talk to Cloud?"

Hesitating briefly Zack gave a nod. "Yeah…actually. We did talk," he started while keeping his eyes firmly on Cloud. "In fact I asked him about that. He said he only had one drink, and it wasn't even that strong…but I guess he wouldn't remember that."

"Yeah well when you're shit faced you don't know what the hell you're sayin," Reno laughed, "and if you're going to drink you might as well do it the right way! So good job blondie!"

"Reno…that's horrible advice," Squall began with a slight roll of his eyes. Reno looked offended and started to state the reasons why it was true and Squall countered every reason with something else. But Cloud and Zack were hardly paying attention to the small debate.

Cloud just kept his gaze down, looking at the napkin dispenser, the utensils on the table. Studying the design of the cherry wood table, the mixture of swirls in it that seemed to make some sort of a pattern. It was shiny also. So much in fact that he could practically see his reflection in it…and at the moment his face reminded him of some frightened little boy. He was certain that Zack was looking at him, probably sending him a look that could kill. And he really couldn't blame him.

What was he doing? He had just lied to Squall and said that he didn't even remember if he had really met Zack and blamed it on alcohol, when he knew good and damn well that he only had one drink that night and was sober as hell. And Zack knew it to. He was in a bad spot, he knew that. He was pretty much screwed even if he was trying to ignore that fact right now. God how he just wanted to disappear so bad right now. To vanish, sink into the floor, something, _anything_ to be out of here.

Letting out a sigh Zack racked a hand through his hair before glancing out the window. Cloud was avoiding making any kind of eye contact with him and he couldn't read him. What the hell was going on with him, what was going through his mind? Had everything from last week been a show? An act or just some kid who was vying for attention and comfort? He honestly didn't know, and at the moment he felt stupid for putting his feelings so much out in the open like that. Never had he done anything like that before, and the first time he did it bit him in the ass. But still…even so…

"Cloud?" Squall asked while directing his focus back to the blonde, "You okay?" He asked while gently rubbing his back. He had noticed Cloud had been sort of quiet, but then again maybe he just was because he didn't know Zack and Reno. Cloud could often be shy around people he didn't know.

"Yeah," Cloud replied while snapping his head towards Squall and offering a smile that he hoped would fool his boyfriend, "I'm fine."

"Oh you know what, we already ordered before you got here, so you should probably-" Squall began before Cloud quickly shook his head.

"It's fine I'm not really hungry," he explained.

Squall gave him a questioning look before Cloud continued.

"Yeah," the blonde began, "It's just I called you and when you said you were here I figured I would just come meet you since I was nearby. But I wasn't really hungry."

"Aw he just wanted to see you," Reno teased while flashing Squall a grin which he simply rolled his eyes in reply.

"Ok," Squall spoke, seeming to accept Cloud's response before his cell phone started to ring again.

Just at the moment the waitress came back with their orders and set them down on the table before giving a wide smile and telling them to enjoy before walking off.

"She's getting a good tip yo," Reno spoke while watching the waitress walk away. It was almost as if she purposely swayed her hips when she realized the red head watching her.

"You kidding?" Zack mumbled while looking towards his friend, "she took like a day to bring two orders…and you didn't even order that did you?"

"Fine by me," Reno replied with a wink while grabbing a ketchup bottle and drenching his fries with it.

"I'll be back, I got to take this call outside," Squall said in a hushed voice while covering the bottom part of his cell phone with his hand.

"What!?" Cloud instantly asked while grabbing Squall's coat sleeve, "w, why can't you just talk here it's okay."

"It's the supervisor for that job I applied to," Squall explained, "I'll be right back," he finished as Cloud gently let go of his sleeve and then he was walking towards the front of the restaurant and stepping outside.

There was a heavy silence that fell over the table except for the sound of Reno munching away on his French fries.

"What job did he apply for?" Reno suddenly asked while looking over to the blonde, "he didn't tell me he was trying to leave me behind."

Whether or not Reno was oblivious to the tension at the table Cloud wasn't sure, either that or the redhead just didn't care.

"Oh I…I don't know, I forgot," Cloud replied a bit absentmindedly.

Reno gave a grunt of disappointment before he went back to his meal, and the same heavy silence fell over the table. It was probably only minutes, or even seconds but it felt like a damn eternity…at least to Cloud. That is until he couldn't take it anymore. He had gone back to looking at the table earlier but carefully, _very _carefully, he lifted his gaze up to meet Zack's. He wasn't surprised to see Zack looking back at him, but the look in those glowing blue eyes practically made the blonde wince.

"Zack," Cloud started softly, trying to keep his voice from breaking or wavering. Whether that be from being nervous or just scared he wasn't sure…perhaps a mixture of the two. "I," he tried again while shaking his head slowly, "I am so…_so_ sorry. I didn't mean for this. I…I didn't know that you knew Squall."

_What? _Zack couldn't help but to somehow feel floored from that. After the situation that they were in, that was Cloud's apology, his _reasoning_? What was he sorry for!? For cheating on Squall? Or for making him feel like an idiot? Or maybe not even either of those, maybe he was just sorry that he got caught. But, then again. He hadn't. No. He hadn't gotten caught by his boyfriend, the one who actually mattered in the equation. He had only gotten caught by the person he cheated with, and that was the nobody.

Letting out a bit of a sarcastic laugh Zack leaned back in his chair. "Oh," he began with a brief nod, "because if your boyfriend was someone else other than Squall it would've been fine right? Or if I hadn't know him."

"No, that's not what I meant," Cloud replied while closing his eyes. He had worded it wrong earlier. But yes at the same time he was sorry that Zack and Squall were friends, he didn't want to mess things up in their friendship, something like this could…oh gosh. Things could just get worse.

"Whoa," Reno began with a mouthful of food, "what the _fuck _just happened here yo?" He asked while glancing back and forth between the two.

"Then what Cloud?" Zack asked while leaning forward on the table completely ignoring Reno's question. His eyes boring directly into the blonde's he continued, "I mean…why didn't you just tell me that you were dating someone?"

Cloud was silent as he let out a shaky breath, once again averting his gaze from Zack's intense eyes.

"If," Zack began quietly while letting out a sigh, "If I had known-"

"I didn't want you to know!" Cloud quickly snapped while turning bright blue eyes back to the other.

Reno raised an eyebrow at that little outburst and casually picked up his drink taking a sip. He had no clue what was unfolding before him but that didn't make it any less entertaining for him.

"What?" Zack asked, his tone clearly saying he was beyond confused.

"If you had known about Squall, then you would've backed off…and I didn't want you to," Cloud admitted softly. Though he knew it was morally wrong. To desire Zack when he already was dating Squall. Wasn't he a jerk for that? Not simply for just desiring and wanting Zack, but for actually _acting_ on those feelings like he did a week ago. That was…wrong. Right?

When Zack had approached him at the club the smart thing to do would've been to politely turn him away. After all, he had seen Zack in that club before, had spotted him and watched him, though he did it discreetly. However Yuffie had seemed to be able to catch on. He had an attraction to Zack physically, that he was aware of…so when Zack finally did approach him, he was just…thrilled. But when they started to talk he realized that he was also attracted to his personality. There was so many things going on that should've put up danger signs, told him to retreat, he didn't need this, he had someone already. And no matter how many times his mind told him that, he just couldn't obey it. And now…this is where he was at.

Zack looked taken aback from what he had just heard. His eyes widened and he leaned back slightly, though still looking at the blonde in front of him.

"Well," Reno spoke up, his voice cutting into the silence as he cleared his throat. A smug little grin seemed to have settled on his face and it was then that Cloud directed his focus to him. In all honesty he had sort of forgot about him, and now he was wondering if he should've said all this in front of the redhead.

"Cloud," Zack began, seeming to be at a complete loss for words. But even if he wanted to say anymore he would have to wait because Squall had just re entered the restaurant. He crossed over the floor and made his way back at the table taking his seat beside his boyfriend.

"Well that was a waste of time," Squall murmured while stabbing at his now slightly cold food.

"Oh," Cloud began while shifting in his seat, trying to act normal again as he carefully placed his hand on his boyfriends arm, "I'm sorry."

Squall shook his head and Reno grinned.

"Don't worry, things could always be much _much_ worse."

* * *

"Come on!!" Yuffie whined loudly into the receiver causing the blonde to pull the phone away from his ear slightly.

"Yuffie I'm sorry I can't tonight," Cloud explained as he walked out of his bedroom.

"Why not? What else are you going to do, just sit around and watch television? Because If you are I could go for that to, I'll bring junk food!" She exclaimed loudly.

Cloud couldn't help but to laugh as he shook his head at his friends excitement. "Sorry Yuffie not that either, I'm not going to be home."

"Are you going out with Squall?" Yuffie asked curiously.

Cloud felt his stomach drop just from the mention of his boyfriend's name as he cleared his throat. "No, but I was with him earlier today, we had lunch."

"Oh cool," the girl replied, "so then where you heading off to?"

"Um, just over to a friend's," Cloud quickly replied.

There was a pause on the other end of the line and then Yuffie was letting out a long sigh, "Cloud," she began, her voice not sounding at all thrilled at the moment.

"What?" Cloud tried to ask innocently, though he was sure his friend suspected something was up.

"I just…I know you are keeping something from me. And I'm sure it has to do with that one guy," Yuffie explained.

"Yuffie I have to go, I'll call you later."

"Wait, Cloud!"

Flipping his cell closed he placed it into his pocket. He didn't mean to be rude to Yuffie but his friend was very nosy when she wanted to be, and he honestly didn't want her to know anything more than she _thought _she already did. He exited out of his apartment a minute later and was walking down the dark streets that were illuminated with the faint glow of the street lights. Today had been crazy and stressful, but in the middle of all that he still felt…a void. He had seen Zack, but things weren't cleared up exactly, in fact the only thing that had happened was a very very awkward encounter. And of course he only had himself to blame because of it. He wasn't going to try to deny that at all, he was the one responsible for it. What he was doing, no, what he _did _was absolutely wrong. Squall was a great person, and a great boyfriend. He would be selfish to ask for anything more…but maybe he was just that. Because even with that in mind, he couldn't dismiss his feelings for Zack. Sure it had only been one night. One night of passion and lust, but they connected in so many more ways that night and the morning after. He felt things with Zack that he had never experienced with Squall. Things that just couldn't go unnoticed. And that week that he hadn't seen or spoken to Zack seemed to be absolute torture. With every message Zack left on his phone he wanted nothing more than to call him back right away…but his conscience seemed to be gnawing at him. Answering Zack's call felt right, but it couldn't be right. That's what his brain kept telling him over and over, and it was that combined with the guilt of what he had done to Squall that kept him from doing so. However now the line between right and wrong seemed to be thinning considerably in his opinion.

Stopping in front of a door of the complex building he had just walked to he took a second glance at the door number before lifting his hand to knock. Hesitating briefly he bit his lip.

After they left out of the restaurant earlier he had briefly spoken to Reno and had gotten Zack's address from him. Whether or not the redhead gave him a true address he wasn't sure, Reno didn't seem to be very trustworthy but he figured what did he have to loose.

So taking a breath he knocked on the door gently. He waited patiently for several moments and didn't get a response so he lifted his hand to knock again. But right then he heard the sound of the doorknob clicking before the door was pulled open.

There Zack stood only in a pair of navy blue sweatpants and a beer in hand. He seemed to completely freeze for a moment as he took in the sight of the blonde before him.

"Hi," Cloud spoke softly. He tried to look calm on the outside, but in all honestly he was terrified. He and Zack had only spoken briefly at the restaurant before Squall came back. And he _had_ ditched his calls for a whole week, so yeah there was a good chance that this door would get slammed in his face.

"Hey," Zack replied. At the moment he looked like a deer caught in the headlights, but he quickly shook his head trying to get a hold of his senses. "How did…you know where I lived?"

"Reno," Cloud answered quickly with a nod, "he told me."

"Oh," Zack replied before clearing his throat and stepping back to pull open the door a bit more, "sorry, come in."

"Thanks," Cloud began while stepping inside as Zack shut the door quietly behind him.

"Um, do you want a drink or something?" Zack asked awkwardly. It was strange to treat this as if it was some regular visit between friends, but he really didn't know what to do.

"No thanks," Cloud replied while taking a step further into the living room. He glanced around the area, taking in the dark hard wood floors and the cozy looking burgundy couch and loveseat. His attention was directed to the flat screen television that was mounted up on the wall and currently playing some commercial about some type of medicine as the announcer listed off the million side effects it caused.

"Birthday gift," Zack began when he realized the blonde looking at the flat screen, "my parents got it for me."

"It's nice," Cloud spoke up with a small smile, "the whole place is."

Zack couldn't help but to feel a sense of déjà vu overtake him at that small comment. He thought back to a week ago and saying pretty much exactly that to Cloud at his home.

"Yeah," he simply replied while moving over to the couch and setting his beer down on the coffee table that was littered with magazines and newspapers. "So…why did you come here?" He finally asked. He decided they should cut this dance already and just address what was really going on here.

Walking slowly over to the loveseat Cloud took a seat, "I just wanted to talk to you about what happened. Like, _really_ talk. Earlier today was…terrible. But, it's all my fault I know."

"Yeah well it was definitely a surprise," Zack started, "considering I hadn't heard from you in a week, and then when I do see you I find out you have a boyfriend. That just so happens to be a friend of mine."

Cloud couldn't help but to look away. When it was laid out in black in white like that it just sounded so bad and he couldn't stop the guilty feeling that washed over him. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Yeah…me too," Zack replied while keeping his eyes on the student. If only Cloud had knew how much he really liked him, how bad this was really hurting Zack inside. That he wanted, hoped that it could've been so much more than what it was. But, that couldn't happen now. And the thing that was probably going to make it even worse was the fact that he knew his _friend _was going out with the one he liked. He may have to be around them at the same time and there was nothing that he could do but just act as if everything was alright. Could he actually do that though? Losing Cloud was enough but he didn't want to have to actually be subjected to seeing him in the arms of someone else, that would truly piss him off.

"I know this is the most cliché thing to say but I didn't mean to hurt you. Really," Cloud continued while looking back into blue eyes.

"Cloud," Zack began while shaking his head, "don't." He could try to forget all this, he wouldn't make a big deal for the sake of Cloud and Squall's relationship, but the one thing he wouldn't do was be fed lies. Apparently he already had and he hadn't liked them so much.

"No, Zack I'm serious," Cloud continued.

Zack let out a sigh and shifted a bit uneasily on the couch. He obviously didn't want to listen to what Cloud was saying to him at the moment. But Cloud needed for him to hear. He needed to explain things, the right way. He had to try to make Zack understand.

"Hey," Cloud started while moving from the loveseat over to the couch so that he was closer to the other, making sure to be able to look him in the eye, to somehow convey what he was really trying to get him to understand. "I know you don't believe it. I don't blame you. I handled this whole thing… completely wrong. I know that. I'm not happy about it because someone gets hurt in the end, even though I didn't want that. But I wasn't thinking about anyone else I guess…I was just being selfish."

Letting the blonde's words sink in Zack was silent for a moment as he held the others gaze. At least Cloud could admit to that now, at least he wasn't trying to make it seem as if this whole thing was fine.

"You're right," Zack simply replied.

"I know," Cloud nodded.

"So," Zack began, "were you…mad at Squall or something? Did you two fight?"

"No, it was nothing like that," Cloud began quietly while looking down at the burgundy cushions. "Squall is a really good guy. He's only ever been the best to me. I mean yeah we have small fights but nothing major. I wasn't mad at him or anything when we…"

He trailed off for a moment before taking a shaky breath and glancing back up to Zack who now had his gaze fixed on the coffee table.

"It wasn't something done out of spite or seeking comfort after an argument. I just…I felt something with you. And I chose not to ignore it."

Slowly looking back to Cloud, Zack searched those wide blue eyes and couldn't help but to press on. "Something?"

Nodding, Cloud continued, "I didn't tell you that night but…I had saw you at the club before. And I didn't think…you would notice me but when you did… I don't know everything just seemed to go right from there. It was like I felt something with you that I had never felt with Squall."

Raising a hand to his cheek the blonde quickly wiped away a tear that had escaped from his eye. "So…I was being honest with you that night. I had _never_ done anything like that before. And everything just seemed so right, and then the next day I," wiping away another tear he silently cursed himself. Where the hell were those coming from? But he wouldn't let them stop him, he needed to tell Zack everything. "I don't know I got so confused. I wanted nothing more than to hear from you but after you were gone and I was there thinking I thought back to Squall…and how I hurt him. And the right thing to do was to try to forget about you. Because Squall was my boyfriend. But I thought about you all week! But the right thing to do was to be with Squall because…that was right."

Tears were now falling freely from his eyes now and he was trying his best to catch them but they still kept coming. He felt his hands being taken away from his face as Zack grasped them in his.

"But is it right to be with him when you're only thinking of me?" Zack asked quietly.

"I don't know! What's right!?" Cloud cried in frustration while looking into Zack's eyes with a tear streaked face.

"I can't answer that for you Cloud," Zack began while gently wiping away some of the blonde's tears, "only you can."

"But I don't know," Cloud replied as Zack squeezed his hand within his.

"Yeah you do," Zack spoke softly. He wanted nothing more than to kiss away Cloud's tears, to hold him tight in his arms. But he didn't want to confuse him more than he already was. At first when Cloud had come over here he had been prepared to back off and respect his relationship with Squall. But now that he knew that Cloud was probably just holding onto that relationship because in his mind he thought that's what he was _supposed _to do, he wasn't so sure he wanted to back off now. Cloud had admitted that he had feelings for Zack, real feelings, strong feelings. And weren't those the kind that you needed for a relationship? Someone could be nice and caring towards you but that didn't mean that those were grounds for a relationship. Were there sparks between Squall and Cloud like Zack knew there had been between the two of them?

Getting his tears under control Cloud smiled at the comforting fingers that were now running through his hair.

"It's been a long…strange day," Zack started with a small smile, "why don't you just get some rest and maybe in a day or two we can talk again?"

Pausing briefly Cloud nodded.

"Okay," Zack replied softly while standing up from the couch and gently pulling Cloud up with him. "Let me grab a shirt and a jacket and I'll walk back with you."

"No, don't it's okay. I'm not far," Cloud answered with a small reassuring smile.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Cloud responded with a nod, already making his way to the door with Zack following behind him. "Thanks Zack for…really listening. I know it's been weird."

"Yeah," Zack began with a nod, "call me when you want to talk okay?"

"All right," Cloud started while pulling open the door. He seemed to pause in the doorway for a moment as if there was something more that he wanted to say, but he simply just turned and said a quiet good night before heading out.

Closing the door Zack leaned against it while exhaling a deep breath. Now that Cloud was going back home and would be away from him were his feelings going to change again? Would he start thinking about how it was wrong? To be honest Zack felt a bit bad about the situation to. Squall was his friend, not a really close friend, but close enough. So how could he even consider this whole thing with Cloud? But, at the same time his feelings for Cloud were to strong, and if he had a chance with him he knew he would take it.

Running a hand over his face he made his way back to the couch before plopping down onto it and taking up his beer again. He had just finished it off and was heading to the kitchen to throw away the bottle when a soft knock at the door caught his attention.

Raising an eyebrow he glanced at the clock. Hopefully it wasn't Reno coming to try to drag him out to some party. He told him he changed his mind and was just going to stay in for the night.

Making his way back over to the door he pulled it open to reveal the small blonde once again.

"Cloud? What's wrong did you forget something?" Zack asked curiously.

"Yeah," he began with a nod and taking a step forward to wrap his arms around Zack. "You."

* * *

**Authors Note: Alright So I continued my "supposed" one shot. But I figure since I'm done with Crystal Clear I could play around with this a bit more. It could probably really be ended here as well, lol. But who knows. I tried to give more insight on Cloud's feelings and such. Cause in the first chapter at the end you don't know what he was thinking to do something like this. So yeah, there you have it. He's a confused college student who, oh, didn't see "fireworks" with Squall, but still cared for him. But with Zack, it was all that and more, hehe! So, is Cloud a jerk? I'll let you be the judge of that. Perhaps if I continue to chap 3 it'll be of some confrontations and whatnot...hmm. Thanks for the awesome reviews you guys!**


	3. Ignorance Is Bliss

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7 or any of the FF7 characters, so no suing!

**Note: So as to avoid confusion, flashback sequences are in italics.**

* * *

"Zack," Cloud whispered while tangling his hands in raven hair as the others lips trailed up and down his neck. This was what he had been craving for a week, this is what he had wanted again ever since Zack had left his apartment that morning. And no matter how "wrong" it was morally, he could honestly say that he didn't care at this moment. Because the way Zack could make him feel was indescribable. Both physically and mentally, there was just something that Zack could trigger within him. He couldn't place his finger on it, but one thing was for sure and he wasn't willing to let that go. 

So he was giving in to his desires again. Drowning in the absolute bliss of Zack's hands roaming over his body, every kiss that was pressed against his skin. To hell with caution, that didn't matter here. No, not anymore. He had decided when he came back here that he wasn't going to follow his mind, but rather his heart. Whether or not that was a _dangerous_ choice he supposed he would find out later. But despite what the outcome was, he didn't regret coming back here…

* * *

_"Cloud? What's wrong did you forget something?"_

_"Yeah," Cloud began while taking a step forward and wrapping his arms around Zack, "You."_

_There was a thick silence that fell over the two as the blonde kept his arms wound tightly around the other. He kept his eyes closed while resting the side of his face against Zack's chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. It felt so nice to hold him again, to be close to him like this. Even if Zack hadn't exactly returned the embraced…even though he hoped he might. But he could understand, Zack's confusion. He didn't want him to think he was toying with his emotions. He honestly didn't mean to, and he was hating himself for that. That's why when he had left just now he only got a block away before turning right back around. He didn't need time to think, he didn't want anymore time away from Zack. _

_Squeezing tighter Cloud finally looked up. He was curious what was running through Zack's mind seeing as he had remained pretty still and quiet. And he was surprised to see Zack just staring down at him, though the look in his eyes was a bit unclear to the blonde._

_Maybe…this was a mistake? Maybe Zack just wanted to be done with this for the evening and here he came running back. _

_"Should I…not have come back?" Cloud asked while gently letting go of the man and taking a small step back. He suddenly felt really insecure if not just a bit stupid really. _

_Feeling a few drops of water splatter on his face he lifted a hand to gently wipe it away and peered up curiously. It looked like it was beginning to rain suddenly, not even bothering to start out with the usual sprinkles._

_"Come here, come inside," Zack suddenly spoke up softly before reaching out and grasping the boys hand to drag him away from the rain. He pulled him in before closing the door quietly behind him. In a second he had turned around and was facing wide blue eyes. Cloud had just stepped in enough to be inside but hadn't ventured much further into the place and was practically right in front of Zack._

_With the close proximity Zack really didn't have a choice but to look into the blonde's eyes. One of the features about Cloud that was the SOLDIERS utter weakness. He could see the questioning almost anxious look lingering in those bright blue eyes and he had to look away briefly._

_He knew that he was losing his resolve. And while he wanted nothing more than to be happy that Cloud had came back…that he said he came back for "him", he couldn't help but have a guilty conscious. He didn't know what was going through Cloud's mind, even though they had spoke earlier, Cloud was still conflicted…still confused. Wasn't he? And would it be right to take advantage of his confusion?_

_"Cloud," Zack began with a sigh before running his hands through his hair. Damn did this kid know what he was doing to him? Never had he been so enthralled with someone and angry at the same time. Angry only because it was like being tempted with something that he wasn't sure could entirely be his. "I thought…you had a lot to think about. You shouldn't say things like this," he finally explained while shutting his eyes for a moment._

_"I'm saying it because it's true though," Cloud spoke in a tone barely above a whisper. "I told myself I needed time to think but…I really don't."_

_Opening his eyes Zack let his gaze fall on the blonde who was now looking to the floor. Was it possible that…this was the truth? If Cloud in fact didn't want to have anything to do with him he wouldn't have even bothered with coming by at all tonight. Let alone coming back to admit this to him. Perhaps what he had told him earlier was more true than he had realized. Maybe Squall…wasn't even any competition? _

_"I," Zack started while catching Cloud's attention, "I just…I don't know. I mean you know how I feel about you but I don't want you to…" He trailed off while searching for the right words he wanted to speak before Cloud was taking a step closer._

_"Zack?" The blonde asked softly while gently placing his hand on the others arm, silently urging him to continue. _

_From just that small touch Zack sucked in a breath before continuing on, "I'm trying to respect this…situation. And I'm holding myself back but…that's hard to do when I see you."_

_He had barely just spoken those last words before he felt soft lips over his own. However he didn't have a chance to react to it seeing as it was over just as quick as it had started._

_"Why?" Cloud asked softly, his lips still just inches away from Zacks. His hand was now moving on its own and was lightly caressing Zack's bare chest. "Why are you holding yourself back?"_

_Whether or not he really wanted an answer Zack wasn't sure because he didn't give him any time to do so before Cloud was leaning in to kiss him again. However this time it wasn't as brief._

_"I'm here aren't I?" Cloud asked once they had broke apart, "if I didn't care would I be?" Moving his arms he encircled the SOLDIER's neck, "how much more clear can I make it?"_

_Looking into blue eyes Zack could only see sincerity there. And what Cloud said made sense. There was no doubt in Zack's mind that Cloud had feelings for him, he knew that…so what reason did he have to feel guilty about any of this? Because technically he was Squall's boyfriend? He wouldn't feel bad about that, not anymore. Because obviously there was something that Squall was lacking. No matter how bad that sounded, it was how he felt. And if Cloud found that in him, then he wouldn't complain._

_Not hesitating any longer he leaned in to capture the students lips in a searing kiss gaining a small moan from the other. Something about all of this just felt so right and he couldn't deny it. And if Cloud didn't want him to hold back, then he wouldn't any longer…_

* * *

Cloud's shirt was hastily cast aside as Zack began his assault of kisses downwards. It didn't seem to take them long to make their way back to Zack's room actually after the blonde had came back. Once they had just given in and melted into each other the passion just seemed to take hold and direct from there. And so here they were now lying on Zack's bed and completely indulging in one another. There was something different about this time then from a week ago however. Maybe because there was a newfound feeling that they shared between them. Not just a lust but a deeper connection that was bringing them together. Whatever it may have been, it was nice. 

Moving back up the blonde's torso Zack swiped his tongue over a pert nipple. Cloud let out a gasp and clenched his hand in the others hair before arching his back slightly.

It looked like that move had caused a strong reaction from the younger one beneath him and he repeated the action a few more times. A moan escaped Cloud as he bit his bottom lip before letting his eyes fall shut.

Zack's heartbeat seemed to sped up from the sounds that Cloud was making. There was something so erotic about them and it affected him every time. And he was enjoying exploring his body, finding out where he liked to be touch so that he could illicit more of those sounds from him. Unlike before, he was taking his time. Not that he didn't the last encounter but…there was something else to it now.

Maybe for the fact that he wanted to please Cloud _thoroughly_. To make him feel like he never had before. So that he would realize that Zack was the one that he needed. That he was _all_ that he needed. That he could satisfy him in everyway, so that Squall wouldn't even be thought of. He wanted Cloud to know that he was better than his current boyfriend, and maybe he was being childish in his reasoning. Trying to prove his worth in some way, but…that's how he felt. Because he knew one thing for sure and it was that he couldn't share Cloud. Just that thought alone upset him. And for a fleeting moment he wondered if Cloud and Squall had slept together that week that he and Cloud were apart. But he quickly dismissed it, he didn't want to think of that now…not ever actually.

The blonde's small hands running down his back caused a pleasant shiver to run through Zack before he was leaning in for another heated kiss. Their tongues dueled in a battle of dominance, one that Cloud quickly gave up on. Though he rather preferred it that way. Instead he followed the others lead as he ran his tongue along the caverns of Zack's mouth, lightly licking at his lips when they would part before the SOLDIER would gently catch his bottom lip within his own. Even their _kissing _was passionate and sensual. Almost as if it had gotten even better if that were possible, and they could easily get caught up just in that alone.

But then their night eventually quieted down. How long it was exactly was anyone's guess. The heavy breathing, panting, along with moans of pleasure slowly drifted from the room as they lay entangled together. Sleep was quickly overtaking them now, but before Cloud could completely fall asleep he couldn't help but to think that there was something about calling out Zack's name that just sounded so…right.

* * *

'No that's no good'," Cloud thought to himself with a frown before deleting the last sentence that he had just typed on his laptop. He was working on a paper for his class and seemed to keep typing up garbage. It was pretty irritating actually, in most cases he was usually pretty good at writing reports and such but tonight he just couldn't grasp it. Though, it was maybe his own fault however. He had procrastinated and only started typing it the day before it was due. So surely that added stress was making this an even more difficult task. That and… 

"Cloud you need to go grocery shopping," Squall said from the kitchen while closing the fridge door.

"Hm?" Cloud asked only half listening as he kept his eyes glued to the computer screen.

"Grocery shopping," Squall said again while walking into the living room and gazing levelly at his boyfriend. "Your mom isn't here to do it for you anymore ya know."

"I know, I know. I'll get around to it." Cloud replied with a wave of his hand.

Sighing Squall moved towards the couch and sat a few inches away from Cloud. "I worry about you sometimes," he simply spoke while grabbing the remote and flicking on the television.

Remaining silent for a minute he raised a brow, "what's that mean?"

"Just that," Squall answered while keeping his eyes on the television, "I mean since you moved here anyways. I guess because I can't be around all the time like before." he finished while finally turning his gaze to look into blue. "So what? Since there's nothing here to eat I'll order out. What do you want?"

'Since I moved here,' the blonde thought to himself before turning to look back at his computer. He knew Squall wasn't really thrilled when he had moved into his apartment at the start of the last semester. They used to live like five minutes from each other, now they were on opposite ends of the city. And Squall, as over protective as he was at times didn't like the fact of Cloud moving away by himself in "the big city." But he was perfectly capable of living alone, even if he did maybe forget minor things like…well, groceries.

"Whatever is fine," Cloud finally replied while looking back at the screen.

"Ok," Squall started while reaching over to the phone that was on the end table, "pizza it is."

Pizza? No, now that Cloud thought about it he didn't want that.

"Uh, maybe Wutainese?" He asked hopefully while glancing to Squall who already had the phone up to his ear.

"I know, that's what I'm getting," he replied with a smile.

Cloud couldn't help but to let out a laugh while shaking his head. That shouldn't even surprise him anymore, Squall seemed to know him better than he knew himself at times. It was sort of cool, but scary at the same time. Though when you knew someone for as long as they had, he supposed it was only natural. It wasn't that they had been together as a couple for that long, but they were friends before that.

They waited for the take out to get there and the blonde continued with his paper while Squall sat there comfortably watching television. Even if Cloud wasn't working on his assignment they might just both be sitting there in silence watching television or something, it wasn't unusual. In fact they could sit together in silence and feel completely comfortable. Maybe it was one of those things in a relationship that meant you were at a good spot and didn't need to always converse. Though, Cloud couldn't _exactly_ say that this time. Even though he was trying to focus on his work his mind just kept churning with other thoughts. And with Squall right beside him it was making it even more difficult.

It had been about two weeks since he had went back to Zack's that night, and within that time they saw each other numerous times and they had spoken every day on the phone. In fact Cloud had even text him during a whole class lecture just the day before. Apparently Zack was stuck doing some boring paperwork, and Cloud didn't feel like listening to his professor so…it had worked out.

They talked about anything and everything for those past couple of weeks, and would be on the phone for hours. It was sort of strange, Cloud didn't think there would be so much stuff to talk about. But the conversations never got dull and there was never any awkward silence. And with each conversation they would learn more about each other, making them even more interested.

Cloud was enjoying finding out more and more about Zack, and the more he knew the more he felt closer to him. Like he had discovered that Zack sometimes spoke in his sleep. Just small words or mumbles, but it was cute in the blonde's opinion and he would always cuddle up closer. And Zack had found out that Cloud didn't like it to be too dark when he went to sleep. That he hadn't really admitted to the SOLDIER but Zack easily picked up on it noticing how Cloud would always slightly open the curtains to let in some of the dim moonlight. But he pretended to act unaware of it.

They wanted to see each other again but had put it off until after Cloud had finished the current paper he was working on. So actually they could see each other tomorrow if they wanted.

A smile began to creep across the blonde's face but he quickly wiped it away. Letting out a sigh he tapped the side of the keyboard, what the hell was he writing? It wasn't making any sense! He couldn't concentrate, his nerves were to on end with Squall there. Honestly he didn't even plan on seeing him now, he had just dropped by. And even though Cloud told him he had a paper to work on he didn't seem affected by it and just volunteered to hang around.

If this had been a few weeks ago he would've been thrilled but now…he just didn't know, it was weird. After all Squall was totally oblivious about he and Zack. That thought made Cloud's heart ache. He still felt like a jerk for all of this. And even though despite what was going on with Zack he could still truly and honestly say that he cared for Squall. That was the reason why he still couldn't bring himself to tell him anything. How could he hurt him like that? He didn't deserve it. To know that he broke his heart…Cloud didn't think he handle that, _live_ with that.

He barely heard the knock in the background and the sound of Squall moving away from the couch. But within a few minutes Squall was back at the couch after having set the bags of take out on the table.

"Ok, time for a break," his boyfriend began while making a move to act like he was shutting the laptop closed.

"Don't you dare! It's not saved," Cloud snapped while playfully jabbing the other in the arm.

Squall let out a small chuckle before leaning in and kissing the blonde on the cheek. "Well save it and let's eat."

Sighing Cloud shook his head. He wasn't satisfied at what he had at all, and if he kept up at this rate he was going to be handing in an incomplete paper. And then he would be handed back an F…he didn't want that.

"I'll eat later, I really need to get this done," he spoke quietly while beginning to type again.

"Later? How long have you been at this?" Squall asked curiously while looking down to the screen.

"A couple hours…I just can't concentrate," he admitted while leaning back further into the couch.

"Oh?" Squall began while turning concerned gray-blue eyes towards the other. "Got something on your mind?"

Cloud felt his heart thud against his chest at those words and he swallowed thickly. Shiva if only he knew.

"No," he quickly lied, "just…stress, I guess." Maybe _that _part was true.

"Well you said you've been at it for hours. I think you need to just take a break, walk away from it for a few and then come back to it. Don't try to push yourself," Squall explained while gently running his fingers through golden spikes.

"It's better just to get it out of the way," Cloud answered determinedly.

"Cloud," Squall began while narrowing his eyes slightly. He was trying to cut through his boyfriends stubbornness. Which sometimes proved hard to do. Giving a bit of a sigh he leaned in and pecked another kiss on his cheek before pressing a few against his ear and lightly licking at his earlobe.

"Squall," the blonde started while tilting his head from the ticklish sensation, "I'm trying to work."

"Work then," Squall replied while moving down and placing a kiss at the base of his boyfriends neck and making his way up.

Squirming a bit the blonde readjusted his laptop before placing a hand on Squall's shoulder. "It's sort of hard to do with you doing that."

"Hm," the other mused while pulling back briefly and giving a smirk, "then don't work," he finished before leaning in and capturing the smaller one's lips.

Cloud's breath caught in his throat and his hands remained planted on the sides of his laptop. But within a minute his boyfriend was moving to take it off of his lap and set it gently on the coffee table. He barely had time to react before Squall's lips were back over his own, lightly licking as if asking permission to enter.

With a hesitant parting of his mouth the other's tongue immediately slipped in causing a soft moan to escape from him.

'What am I doing?' Cloud thought silently to himself before pulling away and placing a hand on Squall's chest.

"Stop distracting me," he began with a smile, hoping to easily slide out of this situation in a joking manner.

"A little distraction is good," Squall began softly while taking the blonde's hand that was against his chest within his.

Maybe he couldn't just "slide" out of this situation after all. From the look he was getting and the gentleness that was now present he was sure that his boyfriend wasn't going to back off.

And it seemed as though his thoughts were right seeing as how Squall had leaned in for another kiss, this time deepening it upon contact. He let go of Cloud's hand, letting one hand rest against his cheek as his arm wrapped around his waist.

The blonde didn't know what else he could do except for wrap his arms around his boyfriends neck and press harder into the kiss. He couldn't deny Squall this, after all in Squall's mind there was nothing to worry about.

Within a minute Squall had Cloud pinned beneath him on the couch, lightly sneaking his hand up the boys shirt and gently caressing the soft skin on his side.

How far was he willing to go? As of now Cloud had kept Squall blissfully ignorant about everything. Still was practically treating things the same, though they hadn't gotten caught up in an intimate encounter like this since he had been with Zack again. And now that it looked like things were heating up…what was he supposed to do?

Squeezing his eyes closed he ran a hand through Squall's soft locks. The sense of familiarity from there kisses to his boyfriend's soft touches was beginning to consume him. It was what he knew, not terrible in the slightest, but…it wasn't Zack.

"I love you," Squall suddenly mumbled against the blonde's neck causing him to blearily open his eyes.

What did he just say? Cloud's fingers stopped stroking the others hair as he sucked in a breath. It wasn't that he hadn't heard it before but…Squall just didn't say it often. Especially just…like that. He would if Cloud was like in a down mood or something, along with showering him with affection. Or just if the mood was right. And he probably only said it a few times after they made love. But other than that it was just a given. Though it never really bothered Cloud, he knew Squall just wasn't good with that type of stuff. And yet, here he was saying it to him now. Why? Why now!? It was almost as if this was some cruel punishment from whatever gods above to make the blonde feel wholly and utterly terrible about himself.

"Squall," Cloud began softly as his boyfriend continued to kiss his neck. Those three words seemed to still be lingering about, and he knew that he should respond back but…how contradicting would that be? To say I love you knowing that you weren't giving your whole self to that person. Wouldn't it be like a slap to their face?

However he guessed he wouldn't have to say anything on the matter because it seemed like Squall was ready to continue on, both of his hands pushing up the other's shirt. A small whimper escaped from Cloud before Squall was trailing his hands across the others abdomen.

Leaning back down he pressed a soft kiss to the student's lips before pulling back slightly and peering into bright blue eyes. He held the gaze as he searched his boyfriend's eyes that seemed to be holding an uncertain look. Maybe Cloud didn't know it but his eyes were a clear window to his soul, and Squall had looked into them enough times before to be able to understand that. And right now they seemed to be a bit clouded. Almost a disconnected look of sorts. But he wasn't sure if that was because his mind was so occupied of his schoolwork, or if…

* * *

_"Damn that was a long fucking day," Reno began while quickly pulling out his pack of cigarettes and popping one into his mouth._

_"Yeah," Squall replied as they walked down the street, leaving the building of their workplace. The streetlights had just started to kick on lighting the semi darkened path as a few cars passed by on the street._

_"So, we should do something tonight yo," Reno began with an exhale of smoke, "I don't feel like sitting inside all night."_

_"Like?" Squall questioned while shifting his gaze to the redhead. _

_"Let's go to a bar, get wasted! Perfect way to welcome the weekend!" Reno exclaimed with a grin._

_With a shake of his head the brunette waved his hand, "pass," he started, "it would be fun for you but not for me seeing as how I would be the one dragging you back home."_

_"Aww!" Reno whined while kicking at an empty bottle on the sidewalk, "what you trying to brush me off for blondie yo?"_

_"No, he's got some exams coming up so he insists that he studies," Squall explained while turning to look at the other, "why don't you go with Zack, that's usually who you go with."_

_"Yeah well he's got plans already," Reno replied while taking another drag of his cigarette, "he's been occupied for a while actually."_

_"Work?" Squall asked while looking back ahead._

_Letting a sly smirk spread across his face he nodded, "of some sort I guess."_

_"What, what do you mean?"_

_"I think he's seeing someone," Reno simply replied with a shrug._

_Squall nodded but Reno continued on._

_"He blew me off like two nights ago actually. Said something suddenly came up," he explained before giving a sarcastic laugh._

_"Really?" Squall asked while turning back to the other._

_"Yeah, remember that night when you were supposed to go out with Cloud? It was then," Reno continued before tossing his used up cigarette on the ground, "what happened with that anyways?" _

_"Oh he said he wasn't feeling too well and just wanted to rest," Squall answered while shoving his hands into his pockets._

_Reno remained silent for a moment while looking up in thought and then a smirk appeared on his face._

_"Right," he began with a slight nod before turning green eyes back onto his friend. "Coincidence?"_

_"What?" Squall asked while giving the other a strange look._

_"Just wondering yo," Reno continued, "I mean isn't weird that every time Cloud is busy so is Zack and vice versa?"_

_What the hell? Squall was aware that his friend could be a real idiot at times but seriously? That wasn't the kind of stuff you joked around about. Then again Reno's humor was always a bit…different. _

_"Reno," he started a bit annoyed, "shut up."_

_"What? I'm just saying it's sort of weird," Reno snapped back._

_"Just because they are both unavailable at the same time doesn't mean anything. They don't even know each other," Squall quickly snapped back._

_"Bull shit!" Reno said with a laugh, "yes they do, they met at the club that night we told you that."_

_"Maybe," Squall began while coming to a stop at the crosswalk, "but Cloud was drunk he doesn't even remember talking to Zack."_

_"Well, he remembers enough. After all he start babbling to Zack about something that time when we were all at the restaurant," Reno began casually while hitting the signal button on the crosswalk repeatedly._

_"Babbling?" Squall asked. What the hell was Reno going on about? In most cases he would just tune him out, but now that he had brought up such a touchy topic Squall just had to know his logic for it all._

_"Yeah, when you got that phone call and left," Reno started while looking back to Squall with a shrug, "I don't know what the fuck it was about yo. But it was a strange conversation. Something about him being sorry and then Zack said some stuff, I don't remember it all. But I guess Cloud had more he wanted to say cause he asked me if I could tell him where Zack lived."_

_Sorry? What reason would Cloud have to apologize to Zack for? Maybe that night when he met him at the club, maybe he was just apologizing for acting a certain way cause he was drunk. Yeah, that had to have been it. _

_"At first I wasn't going to give it to him, I mean it wasn't my problem whatever had happened. But the kid seemed damn anxious to get it, and I didn't want him to start crying on me or anything," Reno continued just as the walk signal changed green and they proceeded to cross the street._

_If Reno was being honest…and he was pretty sure he was about this, why would Cloud have done that? That part… he didn't really understand._

* * *

"Squall?" Cloud asked while gently placing his hand on the side of his boyfriends face. He seemed to just have completely zoned out and hadn't even blinked in that time. "You okay?" 

Shaking his head briefly he closed his eyes. No, no he wasn't going to let his friends dumb ass suspicions make him all paranoid. Reno didn't know Cloud, so of course he could easily make assumptions. It didn't mean they were valid, just theories that the redhead had pieced together in his spare more than likely drunken time.

"Yeah, sorry," he replied while opening his eyes and giving a small smile before kissing the blonde again. "Everything's fine."

* * *

**A/N: And another chapter! I think I'll complete this fic with one more chapter, possibly two. But yea it's not going to be long. Anyways I wanted to sort of focus this chapter on Squall and Cloud and their relationship...or well, whatever you want to call it! Just so there is a better view on how those two are together. So yeah Reno has sort of brought things to light, even if Squall is in denial at the moment. Hmm, Cloud seems to be spinning a huge web of lies, lol. Thanks for the reviews everyone and for supporting this fic! I love you guys! See you next update!**


	4. Exposed

**Disclaimer: I don't own FF7 or any of the FF7 characters, just writing this story for my own amusement! I make no money from it!**

**Note: Italics at the beginning are a reference to the past. Immediately following chapter 3. **

* * *

_How…uncomfortable this was. This tense, almost painful awkwardness that was lingering in the atmosphere. It definitely wasn't the type of feeling you would expect to be present after making love. And yet, somehow, it was. Here in this situation anyways._

_Something was…off. Definitely not right. And if Squall had been in denial about it before he couldn't deny now that there was really something amidst. The look in Cloud's eyes had gave him warning at the beginning, but as the evening continued on everything just seemed so…disconnected. Even their kisses seemed to lose the usual passion, and every touch and caress from the blonde seemed almost hesitant and doubtful. And even with all of that in mind Squall decided to just brush it off. Perhaps he was letting his thoughts get to him, letting his fears play tricks on his mind. At least at first that's what he wanted to believe, because if he didn't believe that, then he would have to accept the fact that there really was something wrong. Something going on with his boyfriend that he hadn't told him. _

_Shifting his gaze to the left of him he saw Cloud curled up with the blankets pulled up almost to his chin. He wasn't asleep though. In fact he was wide awake just sort of staring blankly off into the distance. He hadn't made any attempt to be closer to Squall after they had finished making love…if you could even call it that. In fact there was a good distance between them in the bed, hell they could probably fit a whole other person in between them. And that all in itself was a strange thing because Cloud liked to cuddle. In general and especially after sex. Not even any endearing words were exchanged, no soft, gentle kisses. Everything that usually took place when they were intimate just seemed to be altogether obsolete now._

_Sighing, Squall ran his hands over his face before sitting up in the bed, looking away at nothing in particular. He felt the bed move a bit as Cloud shifted around, though he still made no move to be close to him._

_The blonde lifted his gaze towards Squall looking at his back mainly seeing as how he was sitting upright. He felt so…confused. So strange and uneasy. It probably went without saying that he had royally screwed up. Trying to be with Squall again after being with Zack was…difficult. Just for the fact that he didn't feel like he could give himself wholly to the other. He was holding something back even if he had done it subconsciously. He had sort of just gone through the movements, but he couldn't really focus like usual because in the back of his head there was this little voice screaming at him about how wrong it was. Wrong because his boyfriend didn't know about Zack, didn't know that he had cheated on him. And wrong because Zack was expecting for him to end things with Squall, and yet…here they were in bed together._

* * *

"Come on I'll owe you! Do this for me!" Reno whined while pulling out another cigarette from its confines as he kept green eyes focused on his friend. 

"Reno you owe me for a lot of things already," Squall replied with a shake of his head.

"Yeah but this is different yo! Come on just take my shift on Saturday already!" The redhead continued on while lighting up his cigarette.

"Sorry not this time," Squall replied calmly while sipping his drink.

Reno let out a long whine before exhaling a cloud of smoke in Squall's direction on purpose. He gave a satisfied smirk when Squall sent him a glare.

"So what are you doing then you have plans with blondie?" Reno asked with a raised crimson eyebrow.

Squall remained silent briefly as he eyed the glass in front of him. "No, well not as of yet anyways. I'm not sure."

Reno nodded as he let his eyes stray to the television that was mounted in the corner of the dim bar, currently playing the news.

The brunette let out a sigh while leaning on the counter. Just the mention of Cloud had put his mind into overdrive again and he couldn't help but to find himself thinking negatively. In the sense that something was really going on, that there relationship wasn't as safe and sturdy as he once thought it to be. And he couldn't stop thinking about that one night, and the extreme awkwardness between them. Cloud eventually ended up falling asleep before him, still distant and quiet. And Squall just found himself staring at the blonde as he slept, almost as if he were trying to read his mind or something. In all honesty he probably should've just spoken up, voiced his fears and just got to the bottom of everything. But, something was holding him back from doing that. Perhaps the fear of making it reality. At least now, even if there was something going on, he could remain ignorant and pretend everything was ok. Though, who was he kidding, that was no way to handle this.

The next morning wasn't so bad, but it was probably because they didn't spend a lot of time together. It had pretty much consisted of them both getting ready to head out, Cloud having to get to school and Squall having to embark on his hour long trip back home. They talked and tried to be normal like they always were, both of them seeming to act as if the awkward night before never happened. However, there was still something strained, something was still off. And it was annoying the hell out of Squall.

"Uh, so yeah has Zack said anything else about the person he's dating?" Squall asked while clearing his throat uneasily.

"Hmm?" Reno began while turning jade eyes back onto his friend.

"Yeah, I remembered you saying something about…him dating someone," Squall continued casually. He was fishing for information here, though he was trying to play it off as if he wasn't. This was so unlike him for so many different reasons. But when it came to Cloud, he couldn't help it.

"Ah right," Reno began with a wave of his hand, "I wasn't sure if he was or not, I just assumed he was since he was so busy lately."

"Oh," Squall replied with a brief nod, "so he's not then? Dating anyone I mean?"

"Well I think he is," Reno answered while pulling the cigarette from his mouth, "whenever I ask he just smiles or laughs and tells me to quit being so nosy."

"I see," Squall mumbled while dropping his gaze to the counter. If Zack really was seeing someone why didn't he tell Reno who? Why not give a name, why be so secretive?

"Why do you ask?" Reno questioned before ordering a beer.

"Just curious I guess," Squall replied while narrowing his eyes in thought.

Reno kept his gaze locked on his friend before the beer was placed down in front of him. He took a sip before glancing back over at Squall, a small smirk appearing on his face. "What's wrong yo? You thinkin' that blondie and Zack are hookin up after all?"

The brunette closed his eyes as he tried to will away those thoughts. Why the hell did Reno have to be so damn blunt? Even if he was right.

"I don't know. Maybe," he finally admitted while cracking gray eyes open slightly.

"So what I told you makes sense after all doesn't it!" Reno exclaimed. An almost proud look on his face.

Squall inwardly rolled his eyes. "I didn't even consider anything _until_ you said what you did. Thanks a lot." He finished sarcastically. Honestly, he wished that Reno hadn't even put the stupid thoughts into his head. Before that everything had been fine. But then again, if it was all true he probably should thank Reno for bringing it to his attention.

"Hey I was just pointing out the obvious," Reno began, "and since you're blondie's boyfriend you'd be too damn smitten with him to see it more than likely."

"Well, now I think I do," Squall began while gulping down the rest of his drink before setting it back on the counter with a loud clink. "There's something different between us. I can't explain it."

"That's definitely a bad sign," the redhead replied while stubbing out his cigarette.

"I just…I don't know though. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. I mean, he's had a lot on his mind lately with school and everything. Maybe it's just stress," Squall tried to rationalize while looking back to Reno.

The other just shrugged before tapping his fingers on the counter. "Why don't you just ask him?"

"I can't just ask him!" Squall replied, almost appalled at Reno's suggestion. "If I'm wrong, do you know how hurtful that'll be to him? For me to even question him like that, he would be crushed. I can't just accuse him like that."

"Ask Zack?" Reno offered.

"As if he'd tell me," Squall replied quietly. Though he found himself becoming angry just at that thought.

"He might if he wants to keep blondie all to himself," Reno answered with a smile before shaking his head, "what is it about this kid anyways? The innocent blue eyes or something? He sure is causin' a big fuss."

Squall simply glared at his friend before the redhead continued on.

"I mean Zack was eyeing him the whole damn night we were at the club. Like he was some freakin' angel that had fallen out of heaven or something."

"Eyeing him?" Squall asked, as his eyes widened briefly.

"Yeah," Reno began with a nod, "he thought he was cute. That's the whole reason why he went over to talk to him."

What. The. Hell.

"Are you serious?" Squall asked, completely in shock at this point.

"Yeah," Reno replied with an odd look on his face. He was wondering why his friend seemed so shocked at this information. "You knew that they talked though, you found out when we were at the restaurant that one day."

"Yeah I knew they talked, but I didn't know that it was based around Zack hitting on him!"

"Oooh," Reno began with a nod as understanding kicked in. "Well I'm not saying anything happened cause of it. I mean when Zack went to talk to him Cloud might've told him he had a boyfriend already so it's not a big deal."

"I guess," Squall started, though he didn't sound to satisfied with that response. "Well what happened later?"

"I don't know yo. I left," Reno replied casually with a shrug as he finished off the last of his beer.

"Without Zack? He was still talking to Cloud?"

"When I left he was," Reno answered while turning green eyes back to his friend. "If I had known at the time that blondie was your boyfriend I would've told Zack before he went over there ya know?"

Squall was silent as he went into his own thoughts. Now that it was confirmed that Zack liked Cloud it didn't seem to absurd to think that maybe something was going on between them. Zack had approached Cloud that night in the club. But question was, did Cloud turn him down? What all happened that night? And it didn't help matters that Reno had left, now knowing that Zack and Cloud were left alone it only let Squall's mind wander.

"Anyways, let's blow outta here," Reno began while leaving some gil on the counter and hopping off of the bar stool. Squall just silent followed after his friend as they made their way out of the bar. Reno just continued to chat away, forgetting about the topic they had been discussing before hand. But Squall couldn't seem to forget it. It was like everything was starting to stack up against him. The answer was right in front of him in black and white wasn't it? This couldn't be all speculation anymore. Maybe it wasn't enough to know for sure, but still. It was definitely enough to make him uneasy.

* * *

Staring up at the ceiling Cloud bit his lip as he pressed his cell phone to his ear waiting for the call to connect. It started to ring and he waited impatiently for the recipient to pick up. But it went to voicemail. Again. In fact it had been going to voicemail all day. 

Once the recording stopped playing the beep followed after and the blonde gave a long sigh.

"Ok Zack this is the…well I don't know how many times it is that I've called but I know its a lot. And I can't reach you. And I don't know I'm starting to get a little…worried. I mean, I thought we had plans tonight so, yeah. I don't know if something happened or, if you're mad at me for some reason…I don't know. If I did something to upset you, I'm sorry. Really. Just, please call me back okay? Bye."

Snapping his cell phone closed he tossed it on the bed before continuing to aimlessly stare up at the ceiling. He didn't know what was going on. Why Zack wasn't returning his calls, was he avoiding him for some reason?

Sitting up he ran a hand over his face. A part of him wanted to just go over to the others place and knock on his door non stop until he answered so that he could talk with him.

Who knew, maybe Zack _was_ mad at him. After all he had found about that night with him and Squall. Actually Cloud had told him, he didn't want to keep anymore secrets. Not from Zack, since they were working on this new found relationship. And needless to say he wasn't very happy about it. In fact he was pretty pissed actually. But he had every right to be. It took a lot of explaining on Cloud's part to try to get Zack to calm down and see where he was coming from. And while Zack probably didn't really see his reasoning, he did at least calm down and said that he was trying to be understanding. But he just wanted ties cut with Cloud and Squall. He didn't like the sneaking around, and Cloud didn't either, he just lacked the courage to officially end it with Squall. Though he had promised Zack that the next time he saw Squall, he would end it for sure. And so, after that, things between Zack and he seemed fine.

But, was Zack now having second thoughts about him or something? He didn't know. But something was up. Why else would he ignore him like this? Whenever Cloud would text him Zack would text right back. And if he called he would always answer on practically the second ring with a cheerful greeting. But today, nothing.

Cloud felt tears come to his eyes that he tried hard to hold back. Had he really messed things up? Had he asked too much of Zack that the other just finally got tired of it? Did Zack think he was being strung along, that Cloud wasn't going to leave Squall and so he just decided to forget it?

Cloud didn't want to hurt Squall more than he knew was inevitable, and in doing that he was hurting the one he had come to care so much about. In the end was he going to loose it all? Did he _already _loose it all?

Wiping furiously at his eyes he slid off of his bed. He couldn't just hang around here. He had to do something, he needed to talk to Zack. He needed to make things right. This whole thing had been a mess and he was the one to blame, and since he had caused it he was going to fix it.

* * *

"Maybe we can catch a movie or something," Reno suggested as they stepped into his apartment. 

"Sure why not," Squall replied with a shrug.

"There's a paper on the table there if you want to look," his friend started before moving down the hall into his room.

Squall took a seat on the couch before leaning forward and picking up the paper and flipping to the movie section. He scanned the contents before frowning a bit. This weeks movie's didn't really seem to catch his attention. Though he saw about four that he knew Reno would light up at.

"Find anything?" Reno asked while walking back into the living room.

"Not particularly," Squall answered while folding back up the paper.

"Well what then?" Reno began before flopping on the chair across from Squall, "I refuse to stay in tonight yo and Zack already said he didn't want to go out tonight."

Squall's stomach dropped from that comment as he inwardly wondered if his "so called" friend was planning on spending the night with his boyfriend. He set the paper back down on the table before his eye caught glimpse of a sleek black cell phone. Was it Reno's? He thought his was silver but maybe he got a new one.

"You forgot your cell phone here," Squall spoke up while pointing to the object.

"What?" Reno asked while shifting his gaze lazily towards the phone. "No, I have mine," he began while patting his coat pocket where his phone was tucked away at.

"Oh you know what that's Zack's," the redhead added once he got a better look at the phone. "He must've left it over here, he was here earlier today."

Squall just turned his focus back to the phone while giving a slight nod.

"I better call him and let him know. He probably got a ton of missed calls already," Reno explained while reaching for the phone.

_A ton of missed calls…_

If there really was something going on between Zack and Cloud, then they would surely call each other right? Wouldn't their phone numbers be in each others cell phones? Maybe even some messages sent back and forth?

"Wait," Squall quickly interjected before leaning forward and grabbing the phone before Reno could.

Reno raised an eyebrow as he watched Squall flip open their friends phone and began to navigate through it. "What are you doing?"

"Investigating," Squall mumbled as he continued to scroll through the phone.

"Hey," Reno began while standing to his feet, "if Zack asks I didn't give you his phone yo. You found it and started snooping through it yourself. I don't want to get caught in the middle of this shit," he finished while walking into the kitchen.

Squall didn't reply as he went into Zack's inbox for his text messages. He didn't have to scroll down at all to find the number he was looking for. There on the most recent message sent was Cloud's name. The brunette found himself sucking in a breath before he opened it.

'Are you okay? Is everything alright?'

That was all that was in that message and Squall frowned slightly. That wasn't so bad but still. Although he needed to find something else, something more that could do crucial damage. He scrolled through a few before that one, the ones that were all sent earlier in the day. They mostly consisted of 'What's wrong? Are you okay? How come you're not answering?'

Although Squall knew now that those messages were sent apparently when Zack's phone was here at Reno's. But Cloud seemed to be unaware of that fact.

"Ya know, I don't want to piss of a SOLDIER. Maybe you should just put the phone down now," Reno called from in the kitchen where he was currently rummaging through the fridge.

Squall ignored his friend as he continued to sift through the messages. He was coming across some older ones now. One's that weren't as vague but instead consisted of comments like, 'are you coming over tonight?' 'I don't have class tomorrow so you can stay over.'

"I'm just sayin yo'," Reno continued on while entering back into the living room with a sandwich and a beer before falling into his seat once more. He took a bite from his sandwich before looking over to Squall and noting the dark expression that had settled on his features. "So, what's the verdict?"

Squall shook his head as he continued to browse through the messages, anger rising within him with every message that he read.

"Are you fucking serious!?" Reno began while leaning forward in his seat, "there's really messages back and forth between them!? What are they like those sexy ones?"

"Shut up Reno," Squall bit out before dialing the blonde's number and holding the phone up to his ear.

"Shit! Are you calling him yo!?" Reno asked in a hushed whisper while leaning forward more. A huge amused smile painted across his face.

Squall sent him a glare and the redhead quickly quieted himself as he anxiously looked on. The phone only rang twice before it was quickly answered with a frantic voice on the other end.

_"Zack!? Baby what happened I've been calling you all day! Is everything alright!?"_

Closing his eyes Squall shook his head. He couldn't believe it. Even though he had been pretty sure of it for a while, even now with the text messages he read that confirmed it. There was just something about actually hearing Cloud's voice though that made it so _final_. So _real. _

"Sorry to disappoint you Cloud. This isn't Zack," Squall spoke firmly while opening his eyes to narrowed slits.

He heard Cloud say a soft what before sucking in a breath and then there was a total dead silence on the phone for a good few minutes.

_"Squall,"_he finally breathed. His voice sounding completely alien to the brunette.

"I can't believe you," Squall mumbled. He was really holding in his anger more than Cloud could ever know. But he didn't want to blow up now. Not over the phone and not in front of Reno.

_"Squall, wait let me-"_

Snapping the phone closed Squall forcefully tossed it across the room where it smacked into the wall with a loud crack before it fell to the floor.

"Hey!!" Reno shouted while looking to the wall that now had a small dent in it, "fuck I know you're pissed but don't destroy my place!"

Running his hands over his face Squall shook his head. He just, still couldn't believe it. It all seemed so surreal to him.

Moving over to the now broken cell phone Reno picked up the pieces. "Sorry about the phone Zack. But I can't say you didn't deserve that one," he said to himself before dropping the broken pieces onto the table.

"I got to go," Squall hurriedly spoke while quickly picking himself up off the couch.

"Where?" Reno asked as he followed the brunette with his eyes as he made his way to the door. But he didn't get a response as Squall quickly exited, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Cloud found himself moving over to the couch in a bit of a daze as he took a seat. He had just slipped on his shoes and was about to head out the door to Zack's when his cell phone rang. He had been so relieved when the caller ID showed Zack's name. And all of the worrying and frustration throughout the day just got to him and he found himself blurting out words as soon as he picked up the phone. Though, he had hardly been prepared for it to have been Squall on the other line. 

He knew. Now he knew about him and Zack. But how did he figure it out? Had he always had suspicions? Cloud honestly didn't know. He thought he had done a good job at hiding it, at keeping things normal between them but…no. Then again, there was something unraveling already between them. It was becoming harder and harder for Cloud to keep up the façade, and he was sure Squall had probably started to pick up on it. Still…how did he know it was Zack? How did he get Zack's phone?

He had too many questions buzzing around in his head and it was starting to give him a headache. This wasn't how he wanted things to turn out. He didn't want Squall to find out like this. No, he wanted to be able to explain things, to end things as neatly as possible. But instead, things were messy and ugly. There was no way this was a clean breakup anymore.

Pulling out his cell he flipped it open before pausing. What was he doing? He couldn't call Zack, he obviously didn't have his phone and somehow Squall had gotten it. But he really wanted to hear Zack's voice, maybe that would calm him down. And he didn't have his home number programmed into his phone. Sighing he snapped it shut before setting it down on the table. Should he still just go over to Zack's like he had planned on doing just moments before?

A sudden knock at the door caused the blonde to jump and he quickly turned blue eyes in that direction. He hoped it wasn't Yuffie, he couldn't deal with her right now and all of her questioning or her "I told you so's." But maybe it wasn't, maybe it was Zack. Hoping for the latter he slid off of the couch and quietly began making his way over to the door before the knock came again, this time a little louder.

He unlocked the door and pulled it open and almost toppled over when he was met with angry gray eyes that seemed to almost glow.

"Squall," he choked out while taking a few steps back as his boyfriend entered slamming the door behind him. Cloud's eyes widened as he suddenly felt very trapped and caged at the moment. How the hell did Squall get here so fast!? Apparently he wasn't at home then if he had gotten over to Cloud's within fifteen minutes. He completely hadn't been expecting this.

"Is that it?" Squall asked angrily while taking a few more steps closer to Cloud who in turn took a few steps back until his back was against the wall. The blonde had never seen him like this before and it was a bit unnerving. He didn't think he'd hurt him or anything but still, it scared the hell out of him to see Squall so upset.

"I…I'm sorry," Cloud weakly spoke while looking up to Squall with sad blue eyes. He knew those words meant nothing at all but he didn't know what else to say right now. He was the one who had clearly messed up. He had hurt Squall, he was wrong. What words _could _you say to redeem yourself from that? He was pretty sure the answer didn't exist.

"Sorry?" The brunette began while looking back at Cloud with a look of disbelief on his face, "that's what you have to say is sorry!? You cheat on me with one of my friends for god knows how long, and keep it from me and let me go around like an idiot knowing full well that you stabbed me in the back, and you're saying sorry!!?"

Those words cut into Cloud deeper than any blade could ever do. Squall was right, and it hurt so much to acknowledge all of the damage he had really done. And looking into Squall's pained and angry eyes made his heart ache. He didn't want to be here, it was too much, he just wanted to disappear. He shook his head before burying his face into his hands.

"I know, I know," he spoke softly, slightly muffled because of his hands covering his face.

"No," Squall began before pulling the blonde's hands away from his face, "look at me. You did this! Don't try to hide and run away now! This is all because of you, so own up to it! I deserve that much don't I?"

Tears had already managed to escape from Cloud's eyes as he weakly nodded before looking into Squall's eyes. "Yes," he spoke quietly, "you're right I'm sorry."

Squall's gaze softened as he saw the tears fall from Cloud's eyes. He had never been able to handle the blonde's tears, he always hated them and felt the need to do something to make them go away. And even now, for a brief moment he found himself getting swept up in that thought before allowing the anger to appear back in his eyes. He quickly let go of Cloud's hands and moved away from the student while running his hands through his hair in frustration.

"Damn it Cloud! I trusted you!" Squall shouted before turning back to look at the other, "and this is what I get? That's how it is? You move to another part of the city and just like that it's see what other opportunities are out there?"

"No!" Cloud quickly replied with a shake of his head. No, that's not what he thought at all. He loved Squall, honestly he did. He didn't mean for this, he didn't want to hurt him. He wasn't moving away to try to get away from him, that was never the case. But, Zack just somehow came into his life like a whirlwind and…he couldn't explain it. "It wasn't like that Squall really."

The brunette gave a scoff while shooting a glare at Cloud. "I don't know who to be more angry at. You or Zack, my supposed friend."

The blonde remained silent before dropping his gaze to the floor briefly. "Me," he answered causing Squall to give him a bit of an odd look. "Because Zack didn't know. He didn't know about me and you. Not until…that day we all met up at the restaurant."

"Well you're just full of surprises," Squall said sarcastically.

Cloud looked away while letting out a shaky breath. Yeah, he was full of surprises. He had been surprising himself ever since this whole ordeal started. Maybe it was true what they said, love made you do crazy things.

"I…really don't know what else to say to you," Squall began while shaking his head, "I'm pretty much disgusted with this whole thing."

That word disgusted hit Cloud like a ton of bricks but he only nodded in understanding at it. He didn't expect anything less really, he deserved it after all.

"Squall," Cloud began softly, "If I could do this all over again I wouldn't have hid things like this. I just…I didn't know what to do really. I mean I…I didn't want to hurt you and I guess I just tried to act like everything was fine."

That's what he would change? Just the fact that he wouldn't have hid this huge lie from the other? Squall could barely believe what he was hearing. How about if he had the chance to do things over again he wouldn't have cheated on him! That he wouldn't have been sneaking around behind his back with his friend! That's what he wanted to hear, that's what the blonde should've said. Or did he just not give a damn about that?

"Yeah? And Zack? What about that? That you wouldn't take back or change?" Squall asked while focusing his eyes on a random object in the room. He couldn't look at Cloud, it was too hard to do now. It would only cause of stir of emotions to swirl within him and he couldn't handle that.

The blonde was silent as he let those words sink in. How could he answer that? He couldn't lie anymore, he had done enough of that and now it was time to just be completely honest and lay everything out on the table. Just like Squall said, he had to own up to this now, he owed Squall that much. And so, even though he knew the answer wasn't going to be one that Squall would like, he gave an honest response.

"No…I wouldn't," he replied quietly while glancing at the ground for a moment. "And it's not that I…" he continued while taking in a deep breath and looking back to Squall who now had turned his gaze back to the student. "It's just now I understand that…"

Damn this was hard. Cloud was trying to really just be straight forward here but it still hurt him so much do it. The look in Squall's eyes wasn't helping at all and he was hating himself every minute for what he was doing.

"Squall, I love you. I do but…I'm just not _in_ love with you."

And now there was no turning back. Those words had been spoken and put out there. Those words that Cloud never truly admitted before. But fact remained that it was how he felt. Of course, it took a while to figure out the difference between them though. Squall was Cloud's friend before they even began dating, so maybe when it came down to it in the end, he was more afraid of losing the friendship more than anything else.

The silence that passed between them after that seemed to last an eternity and Cloud was wondering if that had been too harsh, too cruel. He only wanted to be honest, but in doing so he knew that he was going to break the others heart…even if he had inflicted enough pain already. But it seemed once this gate was open though it was hard to close.

"Is that right?" Squall started while narrowing his eyes at the other. He had gotten his answer, it was what he wanted. But he couldn't deny that he somehow thought that when he came here, maybe things would go differently. Maybe Cloud would realize that he had been doing a stupid thing and in the end would hope that Squall could forgive him so that they could repair and salvage their relationship. But, Cloud wasn't fighting for them at all. In fact, he was pretty much just telling the brunette that he was sorry for the way things happened but…when it came down to it, he didn't have the intention of ending things with Zack. And that, despite everything that had been revealed to him recently, just that fact alone was enough to rip away any glimmer of hope. In all honesty, after what Cloud had done he would be a fool to try to reconcile anything between them. But he was sure, that if Cloud really regretted what happened and still wanted to be with him…that somewhere down the line he would forgive him, and try to work things out. He wished he didn't feel that way, that he wasn't so weak. But when it came to Cloud, he would always make a compromise. Though, he guessed he didn't have to worry about that, because it was plain and simple that that wasn't going to happen.

"I," Cloud began while taking a few steps closer to Squall, "this doesn't mean that what we had together wasn't real. It's not that at all. And I'm sorry because you've been so great to me but I…I don't know, I just-"

Lifting up a hand to silence Cloud the brunette shook his head before giving a bit of a sarcastic laugh. "Are you seriously trying to give me the it's not you it's me speech?"

"No, it's not a speech I…" Cloud tried again, while cautiously reaching for his now ex boyfriend's hand.

"Save it," Squall said sternly while pulling his hand back and shooting the blonde a glare. "There's not much else to say here. I should go," he finished while turning and making his way towards the door.

Cloud felt himself reaching out as he took a few steps forward. Something about this still felt wrong. He didn't want Squall to walk away like this, what if he never talked to him again? He didn't want to loose him forever, as a friend. Sure yeah maybe he was being selfish beyond all measure but he couldn't help it.

Once Squall reached the door he stopped, hesitating for a moment before spinning back around and walking right up to the blonde who was staring back at him with wide blue eyes.

"I want you to know one thing," Squall began, "No matter what you say you were feeling, or how you didn't know how to handle this or anything of the kind. If I was put in a situation like this, I would_ never_, _ever_ do that to you. Even if my feelings were wavering or weren't as strong as they used to be, I would still care enough about you to be up front about it before going behind your back like that."

Cloud didn't know what to do, or to say to that. Because he knew Squall was being honest, he would've never hurt him like he had done to him. Instead he just remained where he was and looked into the clouded gray eyes of the other, letting him speak his mind as he listened.

"And it wouldn't even come to that because I loved you more than you'll know. I still do!" He bit out before glancing away briefly, "and you may say that you aren't actually in love with me and I hope you're right and that you know what you're doing. Because if not, you're going to have to live with knowing that you fucked up a really good thing."

And with those words he turned and left out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him, not giving Cloud the chance to respond even if he wanted. And still Cloud made to go after him as soon as he turned around, but instead was met with the door which he was currently leaning on. He didn't bother to try and stop the tears that were falling from his eyes. In a way he felt like he had lost a significant piece of him. A piece that he was sure that he would never get back. Because after this, surely Squall would want nothing to do with him anymore. But, it was his choice, all his doing that brought them to this point. And while he knew he couldn't avoid the truth forever, that someday he was going to have to end things with Squall. Even if he wished he could've told Squall himself instead of finding out the way he did. Though he knew it was inevitable, and he knew what was to come…he didn't realize that it would hurt this bad.

* * *

"Still in bed?" Zack asked while entering Cloud's room to find him still wrapped up in the blankets, exactly as he had been when Zack left to take a shower. 

"Yeah," Cloud mumbled while shifting around to face the other.

Zack gave a smile and Cloud half way returned it. He was glad that Zack was here, he had been so upset last night. For one he hadn't been able to contact the SOLDIER, and then with all of the drama that happened with Squall, it had just been an overall…crappy night. And he was wallowing for awhile after his ex had left, but then about an hour later Zack had came by. He was on assignment for most of the day and realized he didn't have his phone, and came by to the student's as soon as he was finished. And there he was met with a very upset and sad Cloud who had sort of caught him up to speed on everything. He felt sort of guilty that he wasn't around, after all, he was just as much as guilty as Cloud. Though he was sure he wasn't out of the clear. If Squall wanted to confront him there really wasn't much he could do about it. But, his main focus at the time was on Cloud and trying to calm him down after everything. Though the blonde seemed to be relieved at the fact that Zack wasn't ignoring him when he found out that he had forgotten his cell phone at Reno's, and that was how Squall ended up with it. The whole thing was a mess really. A night that they both probably cared to forget about.

Climbing onto the bed Zack pressed a soft kiss to Cloud's lips. "Feeling better?" He asked softly.

"A little," Cloud replied while letting his eyes fall close briefly as he took in the clean scent of the freshly showered SOLDIER.

"Well, a little is good. It's not something that'll go away over night I guess," Zack explained before cuddling up the blonde's side and wrapping his arms around him. "I know the whole thing was really difficult for you but…it's over you know? And now you don't have to worry about that lingering over you anymore. _I_ don't."

"Yeah," Cloud began quietly while gently running his fingers along the side of Zack's face. "I'm sorry…for dragging you through all of this. It wasn't fair to you."

"Hey once I was aware I could've stepped back. I knew what I was getting into, but I thought you were worth the risk," Zack spoke softly causing the other to smile.

Letting out a sigh Cloud moved closer to Zack, nuzzling his face against his chest. Even though he still felt really bad about how everything had turned out with his ex, he could honestly say that still, he knew this was right. And to just be able to lay around in Zack's arms with no strings attached was a nice feeling. Now he felt like he was completely Zack's and he had to admit that that made him happy.

"I wonder if my cell phone is still at Reno's," Zack spoke while gently running his fingers through blonde spikes.

"I'm not sure," Cloud began while looking up at the other, "Squall might have it. I mean he did call me from it."

"Well if he does, I guess I'm not getting it back. Not in one piece anyways," Zack explained with a soft sigh.

Cloud nodded. With as angry as Squall had been the night before it could be pretty possible. Thinking back to the previous night made the blonde's chest tighten. He didn't want to dwell on it too long but he hoped that things would get better with time. And he wasn't sure if Squall could ever stand to be around him again, but who knew, maybe in time they could at least be friends. Though, a part of him was sure that was a far stretch. He knew he had caused his ex a lot of pain, and maybe something like that could never be mended. But, he guessed he could hope for now.

"Cloud?" Zack asked while peering down at the boy curiously. He had gotten some distant look in his eyes and Zack was wondering what was running through his mind.

Blinking, the blonde offered a smile before leaning up and placing a kiss against Zack's lips. He meant for it to be brief and chaste, but once they made contact neither of them seemed to want to break it. Though this kiss seemed more meaningful than any of their others. Perhaps now because it was real and not tainted with betrayal. True their relationship had pretty much had started out on a foundation that could've been a lot better, but there was never any doubts when it came to their feelings between each other. And that was the most genuine and real of all.

Breaking the kiss Zack stared into blue eyes before speaking up once more. "No regrets…right? About the night we met?"

Smiling even wider Cloud shook his head before wrapping his arms around the others neck. "No regrets," he started, "After all, I think it took just that one night for me to…fall in love with you."

He hadn't admitted that to Zack yet but, after the ups and downs that they had been through in their short relationship, he could say that with ease now.

Zack's eyes widened for a moment, and then shortly after that grin that Cloud was so accustomed to settled on his face and the blonde let out a small laugh.

"Same here," Zack began pressing a kiss to the student's forehead, "though it was probably more like love at first sight for me."

Cloud felt a blush come to his face before Zack was sealing his lips in another kiss. This was what he wanted, this heart pounding, tantalizing love. And he found that in Zack and didn't plan to let go. No matter how bad it may seem in other people's eyes of what he had done, he didn't care. Right now he just wanted to hold and kiss Zack and be…happy, truly happy.

He wasn't sure if he was a firm believer in karma, but if it was true…well he would just have to brace himself for whatever was to come and take his chances.

* * *

**Authors Note: Chapter 4. The last and final chapter to this fic. I had fun experimenting with this throughout the four chapters though, seeing as how I really only intended on it being a one shot. But it was cool elaborating on it. Sorry to Squall, but honestly in a triangle thing like this someone is going to get the short end of the stick ne? I first had planned to have it all come crumbling back onto Cloud, and he was going to have neither Squall or Zack. But as I continued on I figured that Zack and he actually would work, since Zack wanted to stick around regardless because he was that drawn to Cloud. Is Cloud mean for playing Squall the way he did? Even if his intentions were pure? Well, it all depends on your perception I guess. But with that last sentence there, karma's a bitch right? So maybe things won't be all good from here on out, but thats up for you to decide. Though, moral of the story boys and girls, DON'T cheat. Lol. Hope you guys enjoyed, and thanks to all the reviewers! I love your guys comments and feedback, though I'm sure you know already!**


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